Video showing how a vehicle struggles out of the puddle -filled Ikot Mbon Ikono- Ukpum Abak road.
Abasifreke Effiong – Uyo
The Akwa Ibom State Roads and Other Infrastructure Maintenance Agency, AKROIMA, has assured motorists that the first phase of intervention on the collapsed Ikot Mbon Ikono – Ukpum Abak road will be completed in three weeks.
The chairman of AKROIMA, Prince Godwin Ntuk Udeh gave the assurance during an inspection of on going intervention on the road by the agency.
The state government moved in to intervene on the road two weeks ago following an outcry from motorists.
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About 2.2 kilometers assembled portions on the Ikot Mbon Ikono- Ukpum Abak road which has become a major bypass for motorists leaving the state capital to Abak, Etim Ekpo, Mkpat Enin, Ikot Abasi, and Rivers state, have failed following the diversion of traffic to the road from Abak road – Ikot Oku Ikono junction which has been closed since October 2019 for the construction of a flyover.
Ntuk Udeh said the first phase of intervention on the road which would be completed in the next three weeks will not include asphalting.
Chairman of AKROIMA, Prince Godwin Ntuk Udeh on reflective jacket inspecting a ring culvert on the Ikot Mbon Ikono – Ukpum Abak road on Wednesday 5th August.
“All things being equal, in the next three weeks, we would have finished with this level of intervention. The first phase of intervention may not including Asphalting. We may end up with stone base. When we apply MP2 on the stone base, it will stabilise, so we will monitor it and will come back and asphalt it in the next phase of intervention.”
He noted that the road needs massive intervention because of the extent of collapse it has experienced but said the agency which works directly under the supervision of the office of the governor will undertake the intervention in phases as approved by the governor.
Ntuk Udeh assured the public that though the intervention would be taken in phases because of the rainy season, the agency will do its utmost best to put the road back in use.
“This road has experienced the best pressure from heavy duty trucks, and so it subjected it to high tension which it couldn’t bear, so the road failed extensively.
The failed portion is very massive. We assure Akwa Ibom people that we are ready for every intervention.”
A terribly bad portion on the road, around Deeper Life Bible Church, Ikot Mbon Ikono, being inspected by AKROIMA team.
“When we arrived here, from the civil engineers and surveyors’ reports, we discovered that we cannot do without a ring culvert. That is why we are constructing one here. I can assure the traveling public that once we complete all the phases of this intervention, the governor won’t be visited with the kind of public outcry we are experiencing.”
The Ikot Mbon Ikono – Ukpum Abak road has currently been closed to heavy duty trucks.
An indigene of Ikot Mbon Ikono, Mr Christopher Udom, said the road failed sorely because of heavy traffic and flooding. The road which was constructed about eight years ago under the Chief Godswill Akpabio’s administration was constructed without gutters.
The Dune observed that some compounds around the very badly failed portions on the road around Depper Life Bible Church, Ikot Mbon Ikono are usually flooded when it rains because of the overflow from the road.
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Udom said people residing along the road have had to use bush tracks through rural roads to get to Idoro road.
This reporter observed that youths have mounted blocks on community roads which are off the dilapidated road and were collecting money from cars using the untarred rural roads as alternative bypass to Abak.
A motorist who did not want his name on print said each vehicle pays N100 to the youths at each road block. This reporter saw two road blocks within one kilometer on feeder rural roads off the dilapidated Ikot Mbon Ikono -Ukpum road, mounted by youths .
