AT last, the light at the end of the tunnel has become real for motorists and people of Asaba, the Delta State capital, as the state government commences work on second flyover, to unbundle the traffic gridlock at the popular Koka Junction by Asaba-Benin highway/Ibusa road.
The flyover will be the second in the oilrich Delta State capital when completed.
Koka Junction has come to be the hub of commercial transportation, operating from ramshackle motor parks. In recent times, the area has become a makeshift market for labour, where able bodied people apparently displaced from the northern states find a safe haven.
Beautiful garden and infrastructure designed by Asaba Capital Development Agency to add aesthetic values to the interchange suffered major setback during the 2020 EndSARS protest, as facilities therein were reduced to rubble by hoodlums.
As traffic continued to build up on a daily basis, the state government decided to save the situation by conceiving an idea over two years ago for the construction of a flyover across the junction.
Permission was sought from the Federal Government by the state government, which was granted.
In earnest, construction of the flyover has started, not without the usual confusion, more gridlock, diversions, construction of lay-by, displacement of petty traders.
More confusion was the question asked by passersby on whether the project is being executed by the Delta State or the Federal Government.
However, with the hope of a new dawn to end the gridlock, while a new commercial community be established at Koka, the people’s worries are already allayed.
Structures, including private houses and a filling station had to give way while adequate compensations were said to have been paid to the property owners.
Speaking on the project which was awarded to a reputable Chinese firm, the state Commissioner for Works, (Urban and Highways), Mr Noel Omodon, said the construction of the Koka Interchange was a deliberate plan by the state government to redirect traffic in a way to avoid vehicular gridlocks daily experienced at the Koka Junction.
The works commissioner urged the contracting firm handling the project to erect a signpost to allay fears that the project was a Federal Government’s own.
According to Mr Omodon, vehicles from Benin end to Onitsha and those from Onitsha end would use the flyover while those from Ibusa and Asaba, would go through the interchange to ensure a seamless flow of traffic.
He further added that alternate routes were at advanced stages of completion around the interchange to ensure free flow of traffic when pilling of the flyover commences.
He disclosed that his office was holding discussions with Delta State Traffic Management Agency (DESTMA) and the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) to deploy officers to the project site to direct and ensure free flow of vehicular movements.
and then