Our target is to make Lagos completely free of potholes – LSPWC

Lagos agency fixes 450 potholes in 10 months

Lagos – The Lagos State Public Works Corporation (LSPWC) said it fixed no fewer than 450 potholes in the 20 Local Government Areas of the state in the last 10 months.

The Executive Chairman of the agency, Mr Gbenga Akinbola, Sunday,  made this known in Lagos that the potholes were fixed under the corporation’s “operation zero potholes on Lagos roads” which began in August, 2010.

According to Akinbola, “our target is to make Lagos completely free of potholes by 2012”.

“That is why we are embarking on this aggressive fixing of potholes which demands that we work round the clock, including public holidays.

“We have  fixed busy roads like Ozumba Nbadiwe, Bonny Camp, Ikorodu roads and others at night due to the traffic congestion that might be caused if they were done during the day.

“We know there are still many potholes on Lagos roads, especially in concentrated areas like Alimosho and Ikorodu which had witnessed huge settlements in recent years and thus put more pressure on the roads.

“By the time we finish our operation in 2012, we assure that all roads in the state, whether major or in remote areas, would  have been  free of potholes.“

On  whether it was feasible to achieve a pothole-free Lagos, Akinbola assured that with the dedication of the agency’s 500 workers, backed by the largest ashphalt production plant in West Africa, it would be done.

The Chairman added that  the plant, which produced 300 million tonnes of asphalt annually, was enough to fix the roads.

“Again, we are not just fixing potholes, we mix our asphalt with a water-repellant  material to ensure that the repairs last long.

“You know Lagos is a coastal state which makes the roads vulnerable to  water incursions. This material strengthens the asphalt and prevents water from damaging the roads easily.”

Akinbola also appealed to Lagosians to help the agency to achieve the target by refraining from doing things that compromised the work.

He said activities like spilling  of petroleum products on the road, unauthorised digging and plying of prohibited roads by heavy trucks would undermine and damage the work of the agency.

The Chairman urged Lagosians to inform the Agency of any bad road or potholes in their areas or community, pledging  instant response by his men.(NAN)