Tunde Bakare
The Benin-Asaba Expressway Concession Company Limited (BAECC) has appealed for patience from motorists and communities along the corridor as it prepares to accelerate construction on the 125-kilometre highway following the rainy season.
Chief Executive Officer of BAECC, Samuel Daramola, in a statement! said the company remained committed to delivering the project despite persistent rainfall and the difficulties of reconstructing a heavily travelled highway while keeping it open to traffic.
“We recognise the inconvenience that motorists and communities have experienced, and we do not take their concerns lightly,” Daramola said. “Our responsibility is not only to build the permanent road but also to do everything reasonably possible to keep people moving while construction is taking place.”
The project, being executed under a 36-month construction programme, involves extensive reconstruction and expansion, earthworks, drainage systems, pavement construction, culverts, traffic management and installation of production facilities.
BAECC said substantial work had already been undertaken on different sections, including earthworks and subgrade preparation, drainage and culvert construction, asphalt and binder-course works and carriageway expansion.
The company has also mobilised asphalt plants, concrete batching plants, paving equipment, concrete mould plants, Wet Mix Macadam plants and other specialised construction equipment.
According to BAECC, billions of naira in private-sector resources have been committed to equipment, construction plants, materials, logistics and supporting infrastructure for the project.
Daramola said much of the preparatory work might not be immediately visible to motorists but was necessary for permanent highway construction.
“A project of this magnitude is built in stages. Before the travelling public sees kilometres of finished asphalt, there must be drainage, earthworks, pavement preparation, production plants and equipment mobilisation,” he said.
BAECC identified persistent rainfall as a major challenge during the current phase, explaining that saturated ground conditions had affected earthworks, pavement stabilisation and asphalt operations.
Daramola, however, stressed that the rainfall had affected the sequencing and pace of some activities rather than stopped construction.
“Where permanent pavement operations are restricted by rainfall, our teams continue with other engineering activities and palliative interventions,” he said.
The company said reconstruction had been further complicated by the need to keep the busy corridor open to thousands of motorists, buses, commercial vehicles and articulated trucks.
BAECC said it had sometimes reopened treated sections earlier than would ordinarily be preferred to ease congestion.
“We are building and managing traffic at the same time,” Daramola said. “There are occasions when engineering considerations would favour keeping a section closed for longer, but the realities facing motorists require us to reopen the road.”
The company said palliative interventions would continue on difficult sections to reduce hardship while permanent reconstruction progresses.
“Our immediate task is to reduce the inconvenience being experienced today while remaining focused on the permanent solution,” Daramola said.
BAECC said it was preparing for a major acceleration of permanent works from October as weather conditions improve.
The programme will cover drainage completion, pavement reconstruction, asphalt binder and wearing-course installation, culvert construction and other permanent works across multiple sections.
Additional personnel, equipment and construction resources are also being mobilised for the dry season construction window.
“As the rains recede, Nigerians will see a significant acceleration of permanent works,” Daramola said.
He appealed to motorists and host communities to consider the project within its overall construction programme rather than judge it solely by present difficulties.
“We are not asking anyone to ignore the present difficulties. We recognise them and are addressing them through palliative interventions while building the permanent solution,” he said.
“What we ask for is the time and opportunity to deliver the project within the construction programme. Judge us ultimately by the quality, durability and safety of the highway we deliver.”
BAECC also pledged continued cooperation with the Federal Government, relevant agencies and host communities, saying all stakeholders share the objective of delivering a safe and reliable highway.
“The road people see during construction is not the road they will see at completion,” Daramola said. “We ask for a little more patience and the opportunity to complete what we have started.”