The Federal Government has been commended for completing the side walls on River Oyi-Gada-biu bridge, Apata in Lokoja Local Government Area (LGA) of the state.
The Olu Apata,Oba Frederick Balogun, who gave the commendation on Saturday while inspecting the bridge, described the construction work as “expertly done.”
The traditional ruler noted that the constructed walls would go a long way in reducing road traffic crashes on the bridge along the Lokoja-Obajana road.
Our Correspondent reports that the federal government, through the ministry of Works, embarked on the construction project to ease traffic and curb crashes.
The contractor that completed the concrete work of the side walls reportedly started work about two weeks ago.
Oba Balogun expressed gratitude to works minister, Mr Dave Imahi for prioritising the construction of the side walls, aimed at averting vehicles falling over the bridge into the river.
“I personally rehabilitated the bridge for several years because of the dilapidated spots that served as death trap, where several Nigerians lost their lives
“Only in 2022 the attention of the Federal Government was drawn to it after the publication of the rehabilitation I carried out in conjunction with the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), ” he said.
It could be recalled that as part of efforts to save lives on Lokoja-Obajana highway, the FRSC and Apata community members have undertaken the repair of river Oyi-Gada-Biu bridge, an accident-prone spot on the Obajana -Lokoja road in Lokoja Local Government Area of Kogi State.
The repair of the bridge was the initiative of the traditional ruler of the area, Olu of Apata, Oba Fredrick Balogun, in synergy with the FRSC, considering the colossal loss of lives and property on the highway.
The royal father explained that the bridge had always been in bad shape because of the high volume of water and heavy traffic on the road, which demanded immediate attention for repair to avoid road crashes and loss of lives and property.
“We lost so many of our community members on this road, particularly this very spot (bridge), due to its dilapidated nature.
“As a leader, the welfare of my people is paramount, especially any area where they are suffering, I should be able to mitigate it.
“It’s so pathetic and quite unfortunate that my community and the country as a whole have lost precious innocent lives of road users, both motorists and commuters, to this very bad spot.
“Therefore, if the road goes bad, and it’s not quickly fixed, it becomes a death trap to both motorists and commuters, and more so that this is the only good road that links the North and the South
“This is exactly what gingered me to always synergise with the FRSC and even Dangote Group, to ensure that the bridge is fixed to avert carnages on the busy Obajana-Lokoja road,” he explained.
Balogun noted that: “The government alone can’t do everything for us, which explains why my subjects and I always rose to the occasion once we noticed that the bridge had gone bad.”
He thanked the former Unit Commander, Zariagi FRSC Unit Command, Moses Odogiyon, and his officers and men for the support and cooperation at fixing the Gadabiu bridge.
