N30 billion Lagos road extension project for commissioning next year

THE Lagos State Government, in conjunction with its technical partners- the World Bank and the French Development Agency, has said the ongoing Mile 12-Ikorodu town BRT extension project would gulp N30 billion, on completion in 2014.

Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA) made this disclosure at a press briefing on the project in Lagos, over the weekend, explaining that the multi-million Naira project was designed to extend BRT service from Mile 12- Ikorodu, while also improving the Ikorodu road network infrastructure.

LAMATA’s Director of Public Transport, Olugbenga Dairo, an engineer, said that the Mile 12-Ikorodu BRT extension project was a new pilot scheme from other existing ones, designed as median running with bilateral bus station configuration and will be linked to pedestrian bridges on the route.

According to him, the project scheme would be concrete in nature and on completion, will extend BRT network from Ikorodu to CMS (about 36 kilo metres).

He explained that the change in the BRT corridors to concrete might not be unconnected with the present deplorable condition of the existing ones, adding that this one is in line with international standard.

Dairo explained that Ikorodu town is fast becoming a city as its population is growing on a daily basis, according to survey, adding that government has to embark on the new project to cater for rising demand for public transportation because the existing ones are “inadequate, unsafe and operate as informal sector.

Majority of the people in Ikorodu are low and middle class income earners, which use public transport. The existing transport infrastructure has deteriorated and become inadequate.”

Breakdown of the road project showed that there will be provision of traffic lanes (13.5 Kilometres) and walkways on either side of [size=13pt]the existing roadway;[/size] construction of BRT lanes; rehabilitation of existing roadway; construction of BRT stations.

Guardian