Edo State Commissioner for Roads and Bridges, Mr. Ethan Uzamere has admonished the federal government to channel more of its road infrastructural projects to the state considering its strategic location in the country.
He made the appeal while addressing Journalists in Benin on the current conditions of the roads and the progress made so far in the state.
Mr. Uzamere said that Edo State is strategically placed and it serves as a major gateway to many parts of the country adding that with this, the volume of vehicles, especially the articulated ones, is bound to be high, resulting to the wearing and tearing of the roads in the state.
Uzamere said considering this factor, the federal government, when making budgets for roads maintenance in the country, Edo state should top most in its priority.
He said the state government on its own, is doing all in its power to fix up the adjoining roads and make them accessable to ease congestion.
He said the state government has constructed several kilometers of roads in the state and it is doing more.
The Commissioner, while speaking on the heavy traffic usually experienced at the Ikpoba Slope in Ikpoba Okha Local Government Area of the state due to a failed portion of the road, said it is currently under repair to ease the congestion on that axis.
He also said that the drainage in that axis is blocked and is being desilted to allow a free flow of water into the Ikpoba River.
The Commissioner of Roads and Bridges who said cost of raw materials have gone up astronomically, maintained that roads in the state must be done to specification so that it can stand the test of time.
