Zik Gbemre Speaks From The Archives Response To Engr Comrade Emmanuel Igbini OnThe Failed Fly Over Bridge At Effurun Roundabout
Dear Comrade Emmanuel Igbini, Delta State Direct Labour Agency,
Firstly, I was not expecting this question from you considering the fact, as an Engineer, I believe you should know better. A fly over in such a strategic Roundabout like the one in Effurun, should have several ‘diversions’ (if possible in all four directions), that would give motorists options on where to follow. Such a fly over bridge should start from afar off as it extends to other diversions before it gets to the Roundabout and after, and not a fly over bridge that only starts at the point of the Roundabout, and also runs from one direction (Warri/Sapele Rd) to the other side.
If you would observe, the traffic jam is usually more from the Ughelli direction (i.e those coming from Ughelli and Port-Harcourt), and the Benin direction. One would have expected the said fly over bridge to have run diversions to these outlets so that motorists from these directions would simply run across to enter Warri with ease. These are not abstract things but are observed in other parts of the world.
Modern fly over bridges in strategic central locations are usually built with several diversions that are also afar off from the main road to the points of entry, with the roads under the fly over providing several options for motorists as well. There are several examples of how modern fly over bridges are constructed across the globe in places like Dallas, Baltimore, Atlanta, Houston, London, Birmingham, Leeds, Amsterdam, The Hague, etc. The Delta State government and its aides and officials are well travelled and I am sure they see some of these things. So why can’t they replicate same here?
The sort of fly over bridge built in Effurun Roundabout is no longer in vogue. Nobody constructs such fly over bridges on a central roundabout anymore in modern cities. A fly over bridge that has only one route which starts at the point of the roundabout and ends at the other side does not address traffic jam because motorists will still have to gather at that ‘point’ before they can access other routes into town. You might say having a fly over bridge with several diversions will not cost much but that is not necessarily true.
The problem we have with our Delta State government (both past and present) and their ‘preferred contractors’ is their ‘insincerity’ in the execution of infrastructural projects. Whenever such jobs of public utilities are issued, they see it as an opportunity to misappropriate funds and hurriedly execute the jobs, which the government also wants to use as publicity stunts to shine.
We are very sure that if we were to calculate the amount said to have been used to construct the said Effurun fly over bridge, we would be amazed to discover that the same amount can be used to construct a more modern fly over bridge with several diversions that would address traffic jam. Virtually everything that is used in the construction of such fly over bridge are sourced at home; from the different types of sand, to the iron rods and cement. All that is really needed to make all the difference is in the ‘design’. And we have good Engineers and Architects that can do this here without looking for any expatriate.
The Delta State government cannot expect a different result in project execution when the same old hands and circle of people are used. I think I have said enough on this.
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