Governor, David Umahi of Ebonyi state has flagged-off operation zero pothole programme in the state capital, Abakaliki.
The program which was flagged off by Gov Umahi Senior Special Assistant on road maintenance, Chief Ali Odefa on Saturday, was aimed to renovate all asphalted roads in the state which have deteriorated.
Odefa also flagged off the construction of a 150 meters long Redemption Avenue, in Nkaliki axis.
Flagging off the projects, Governor David Umahi said the government has adopted a new renovation design for the program which will ensure that the renovated roads do not fail again.
He, however, maintained that the program will be carried out across the 14 zones of the capital.
“So what this zero pothole programme has designed is that wherever we notice that there is a pothole, we mark that pothole, dig and scavenge that place to a depth of 8inches, we put BRC MM 5inches thickness and them we pour grade 40 concrete and then that portion can never fail anymore.
“So, when we finish putting all these concrete amendments in place, we can now overlay them again with asphalts and then they will stand the test of time”
“We are taking them one after the others. We have divided Abakaliki into 14 DISCOs and each DISCO has its own streets”.
“Most of the internal roads done by the previous administration in the state have failed. So, we have started to attend to them one after the other, places where we have done concrete roads are safe. The places where there are asphalts roads in the past, even when you recoat them, the failures start underground. That is why we are adopting this new design”, he said.
He said the cost of the road project is N14 million with concrete with drainages on each side of the road to ensure that it lasts for a long time.
“The cost of the project is N14. 4million and it is 6meter by 6 inches concrete road. The road was very bad and the way they build houses around the area made it very prone to flooding.
“In the rainy season, it is not passable but we have filled all those places and we are introducing culverts in some portion of the road so that there will be
easy flow of water in the drainages” he added.
A Pastor of the Redeemed Christian Church located on the street, Pastor Amari Omaka commended the governor for remembering the area in his massive reconstruction program in the state.
He noted that, during the rainy season, residents and members of the Church found it hard to access the Church and their houses on the street due to the swampy nature of the area.
He also promised the cooperation of the people of the area with the construction workers to ensure speedy completion of the project. Ends