In its efforts to ensure the smooth and free flow of traffic during the Yuletide season, the Federal Government, through the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA), has commenced the total rehabilitation of some major federal roads in Bauchi State.
The disclosure was made by the Federal Roads Maintenance Engineer of FERMA in Bauchi State, Engr. Nanpan Joroh, during an interactive session with newsmen on Wednesday.
According to him, the Federal Government is particularly concerned about the safety of Nigerians travelling on the roads, especially during the Yuletide season, hence the renovation and rehabilitation of the major roads.
He explained, “We are now in December, and FERMA has commenced massive maintenance and patching of potholes on some major roads in Bauchi State.”
He also stated, “We call this program Operation Connect to Your Destination. We want road users to use the roads safely to their destinations during this Yuletide period and return safely as well.”
“The program kicked off last week, and our men are now on the roads, working day in and day out to ensure that people travel to their destinations safely during this festive period,” he said.
Nanpan Joroh highlighted some of the roads being renovated under the Operation Connect to Your Destination program, including the Bauchi-Tafawa Balewa to Plateau State border, which spans 21 kilometres, and the Bauchi-Kari to Yobe State border roads, covering 30.9 kilometres.
Similarly, the site engineer explained that there were four other major road contracts under the 2024 budget for which the federal government had granted approval for complete renovations.
These, he said, included the Azare-Misau road, with a length of 20.2 kilometres. He added that the contractor had already commenced work and would soon complete the road in the next week.
According to him, “other roads included the Bauchi-Jos road, the Bauchi-Gombe State border road, and the Kari-Yana border road in Jigawa State.”
He explained that “the contractors for these three roads will soon report and mobilise to the site any moment from now, and that is when we will know the kilometres that will be covered.”
“With all these contracts and the direct labour works, if they are executed, the federal roads in Bauchi State will be motorable, and the people will be able to use them to travel safely to their destinations during the festive period,” said the engineer.
He, however, explained that the fear of insecurity is one of the major challenges faced while discharging their duties, saying, “This is because there are times we work through the night because when you have collected asphalt, you have to exhaust it.”
He stressed that, “If it stays overnight, it may get spoilt, but we thank God for the security agencies because we do invite them to give us cover or protection so we can work easily.”
Nanpan Joroh, who acknowledged Gov. Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State’s resolve in partnering with FERMA to overcome some challenges, appreciated him for allocating land to them for the construction of their permanent site.
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