Construction giant Julius Berger has suspended work on the Lagos-Ibadan expressway ahead of the yuletide period, the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing stated in a notice released on Monday.
According to the notice, the suspension is necessary to ease the movement of people and goods during the December period.
The director of the Federal Ministry of Works for SouthWest Zone, Adedamola Kuti, noted that to ease movement, the barricade causing gridlock on the road would be removed to allow travelers to ply the road with ease.
However, he added that construction on the road will resume by January 2023.
“The issue is that this is the December period and our people are going to travel. So, we want to relax and work on the road so that people can go for their Christmas holiday, ” he was quoted.
“During the yuletide season, this is what we have been doing every year. We remove all barriers on the road so that people can have a seamless movement on the express,” he added.
Investors King understands that the Lagos-Ibadan expressway is one of the busiest road networks in Nigeria. It is expected that the number of travelers that will ply the road will significantly increase during the December period.
Meanwhile, the director further disclosed that construction on the road will progress faster once work resumes by January 2023.
He noted that work would have entered the dry season which is favourable to construction.
“Early in January, we will resume work, we are in the dry season, so the work will be faster than what we used to have,” he noted.
Additionally, he hinted that all being equal, work should have been completed on the road before the end of the dry season.
“We shall complete it in this dry season and I am sure specifically, all things being equal, before the end of February or early March, before the election or thereabout, we should be able to tidy things up,” he concluded.