By Adeyinka Adeniran
The contractor handling the Ibadan-Iwo-Osogbo road, Peculiar Ultimate Concerns Limited, has assured the people of Oyo State, especially users of the road, that all hands are on deck to finish the reconstruction of Olodo bridge on schedule.
The company’s Executive Director, Abel Adeleke, stated this at the weekend while answering questions on the extent of work done on the bridge.
Recall that, Oyo state government had awarded the reconstruction of the Ibadan-Iwo-Osogbo road, which is a federal road, to the contractor to relieve the pains of users of the road.
However, the rains of July 30 washed away Olodo bridge, which is on the road, while the reconstruction was still ongoing.
Adeleke said, “I am aware of the complaints of commuters on Olodo Bridge. We feel their pains and we are doing everything within our powers to ensure that the bridge is delivered on schedule. But unfortunately, bridge construction cannot be rushed. It has to go through the normal process.
“It is our wish to at least fix the bridge as soon as we can and continue with the road construction, but that cannot be done. We cannot jump any stage of the process.
“Right now, what we are doing is piling. This is like the foundation of the bridge. You know when you are constructing a skyscraper, you spend quite a lot of time on the foundation. That is the stage we are at now. We have completed about 50 percent of that.
“I want to plead with the people of Oyo state to bear with us. I am assuring them that we shall deliver a bridge that all of us will be proud of, a bridge that will serve us for many years.”
Adeleke added that his organisation realized the importance of the bridge to thousands of people, who daily make use of it and would not keep them waiting for long.
On the alternative route provided, Adeleke said, “We keep fixing the alternative route to ameliorate the challenges faced by our people who take the route. We are always on the road to fix any portion that goes bad at any time.
“We need to understand that the alternative route was not designed for the volume of traffic that we have on that route now. But we are not resting on our oars, we shall keep fixing it until the road and the bridge are ready.”
While pleading with the commuters to exercise a little bit of patience, Adeleke said with the dry season approaching, work rate on both the bridge and the road would increase and the target date for the delivery of both would be achieved.
