Motorists and other road users who ply the dilapidated 150km Bauchi-Gombe Federal Highway will soon heave a sigh of relief following the intervention of the North-East Development Commission (NEDC).
The NEDC has taken over the construction of bridges on the three spots located in Kalajanga, Bara and Tashan Turmi which have remained prone to flooding over the years.
Already, work at the first spot in Kalajanga village has reached above 50 percent of completion as workers are on site all day round to ensure that the construction was completed on schedule as disclosed by the Supervisor of the project, Jacob Joseph while speaking with Journalists.
Jacob revealed that the contract was awarded to Triacta Nigeria Plc which immediately mobilized to the site and commenced work in order to complete and deliver it before the rainy season set in.
According to him, “As you can see, work is progressing steadily, I can tell you that we have done more than 50 percent of the work. In the next 3 weeks, we will deliver this one and move to the next spot. Our men are already there to create a diversion to enable us to begin.”
The Supervisor assured that the bridge which is a 3-span will provide smooth traffic flow on the spot against what used to happen every rainy season as floods used to wash away the culvert there before.
He commended the villagers for cooperation and support to the company, saying that most of them work as casuals in the security department because, according to him, “It is their terrain and they know it very well.”
He also said that some of the skilled youths in the village were engaged in order to be well-trained and master their trades stressing that the atmosphere has been made convenient for them by the community.
Jacob assured that the three bridges will be completed in good time before the heavy rains that bring FG flooding will begin.
A villager who works at the site, Babayo Mainama Kalajanga, expressed happiness with the project, saying that it will bring relief to the people of the village and more importantly, the road users.
The old man said that in the last 5 years, the community has not found it easy especially during the rainy season when the box culvert was washed away by flooding forcing them to engage in rescue operations.
Babayo Mainama Kalajanga however called on the government to ensure that the entire road from Bauchi to Gombe was completely rehabilitated to save lives.
A commercial bus driver, Musa Aminu who spoke to the Journalists on the spot commended whoever awarded the contract saying that it would bring relief to them considering the hardship they are made to go through every year.
