Nigerian Govt reveals cause of coastal highway flooding

The Federal Government has said that flooding recorded on asection of the Lagos–Calabar Coastal Highway after Tuesday’s rainfall wascaused by vandalism and indiscriminate dumping of refuse. The government said the flooding was not due to constructionfailure. The Federal Controller of Works in Lagos State, Mr. OlufemiDare, stated this while addressing journalists on Wednesday in Lagos. He said videos circulating on social media suggesting thatthe flooding was due to construction defects were misleading. He noted that the highway was designed with an undergrounddrainage system, including 1.2-metre-diameter pipes capable of channellingstormwater from one end of the road to the other. According to him, the drainage system has reinforcedconcrete manhole covers strong enough to withstand vehicular and human traffic. “What we have here is not a construction error. It isman-made. Vandals remove the concrete manhole covers, break them, and take awaythe iron reinforcements to sell. “After removing the covers, some people dump refuse insidethe manholes, thereby blocking the drainage system. “When rain falls, the water cannot pass through, and itresults in flooding,” he said. Dare said the vandalism was widespread, noting that manholecovers had been removed from Eko Atlantic through the entire stretch of theroad. He added that about 50 steel sections of the see-throughfence along the corridor were stolen overnight, while seven steel traffic signswere also recently removed. He described the development as unfortunate, adding that thecoastal highway is a major federal government investment and must be protected. The controller said officials of Hitech ConstructionCompany, the contractor, worked until about 10 p.m. on Tuesday to clear refusefrom the blocked drainage to restore the free flow of water. On security, Dare said the Commissioner of Police in LagosState had deployed a large number of personnel to the corridor. He said efforts were ongoing to clear shanties and illegalstructures around the Rainoil and Marwa Junction axis, which had beenidentified as areas where hoodlums operate. According to him, security agencies, including a task forceand the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, will intensify operations in thearea to address criminal activities. He also reiterated that commercial motorcycling remainsbanned on the highway, warning that vehicles driving against traffic riskarrest. “If we do not take drastic steps, we will not move forward.The coastal highway is a superhighway, and such violations will not betolerated,” he said. Dare noted that the road is still under construction and wastemporarily opened in December by the Minister of Works, Sen. David Umahi, toease traffic during the Yuletide season. He added that the drainage system was designed to channelwater into designated canals approved by the Lagos State Government. Meanwhile, the controller announced that the annual AccessBank Marathon would hold on the coastal highway on Saturday. He said the road would be completely closed to traffic frommidnight on Friday until 12:30 p.m. on Saturday. “There will be total closure. All access points will beblocked. Motorists are advised to plan ahead,” he said. Dare added that the Minister of Works would visit theproject site on Friday to assess the situation and give further directives.

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