Rivers Governor Nyesom Wike has explained the construction of 10 flyovers in Port Harcourt and Obio-Akpor local government areas by his administration is aimed at addressing the chaotic traffic situation experienced in the state capital.
The Governor said by the time the Orochiri-Worukwo and Oroabali flyovers were completed in a few weeks , motorists and commuters would no longer experience harrowing time travelling on the busy Port Harcourt-Aba road.
Wike spoke shortly after inspecting the progress of work on the Oroabali flyover in Port Harcourt on Friday.
He said his administration decided to adopt construction of flyovers as traffic congestion reduction mechanism following the adverse effect of traffic on economic activities.
He said: “When you look at Port Harcourt and what it use to be in terms of the traffic, it is not what any human being will want to witness. It was very horrible and that of course affects economic activities.”
The Governor said with the completion of the Rebisi, Rumola and Rumuogba flyovers, the over one hour thirty minutes spent driving from Port Harcourt city centre to the Rumukurushi interchange had been reduced considerably.
“This is what we call development. Look at how it (Oroabali flyover) has transformed the entire area. It is also promise made and promise fulfilled,” he said.
Wike disclosed that Julius Berger, which is constructing the flyovers, had promised to deliver the projects to the state government by the end of this month.
He expressed satisfaction with the quality of work and said the state government was happy that it was getting value for the money spent on the projects.
The governor disclosed that the tenth flyover located at the Rumukurushi -Elimgbu axis of Obio- Akpor council would be flagged off within the next two weeks.
He said: “We thank God for his mercy and for giving us courage and the resources to carry out these massive infrastructure in the state. And I can tell you the kind of support we are getting from the people.
“We thank Peoples Democratic Party, PDP for giving us the opportunity to contribute our own little quota to the development of the State.”