Oyo State government has opened an alternative route in the Olodo axis. This is about a week after the collapse of the Olodo Bank Bridge due to flooding.
The government appealed to road users not to hinder the flow of traffic on the new route. It also assured that the collapsed bridge will be fixed in six months.
Commissioner for Works, Public Infrastructure and Transport, Professor Daud Shangodoyin, visited the 2.5km Oki Junction-Olodo Bank Road fixed as an alternative route.
At the site was the Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Prince Dotun Oyelade. Also present was an engineer from Peculiar Ultimate Concerns, the contractors handling the Ibadan-Iwo-Osogbo Road.
He said Governor ‘Seyi Makinde has directed that another route should be fixed as an alternative route. It is the 3.8km road from Oki through Kumapayi to Olodo.
Professor Shangodoyin disclosed that his ministry would embark on that project immediately.
He appealed to road users to manage the alternative infrastructure so as not to cause hardship for other road users. He states that work would begin on the collapsed bridge in a few days.
He said: “You recall that sometimes last year, Governor Makinde and former governor of Osun State, Mr. Gboyega Oyetola, flagged off a 35.7km road project from Iwo Road Interchange to Odo-Oba to Osogbo.
“Few weeks ago, we also noticed that the bridge along Olodo Road would not be able to contain the downpour of rain. We were thinking of having a box culvert there. But because of the volume of the rain, we are changing it to a bridge. This will take some time for us to complete.
“So, we needed to look for the easiest route to reduce the hardship on that road. Now, we have located a road, which is 2.5km from Oki Junction to Olodo Bank. What we have done on this road is some repair work because it is an old and abandoned road.
“We have on the road 4m width of bridge, which was constructed during the Western Region. We also have two streams in which we have placed steel pipes which are 6m long and 1.2m diameter. We have done some classification and put some stone base so that it will be passable for our people.
“Governor Makinde directed my ministry to be proactive on it and make sure that the road is open to our people. So, that is why we are here today to say that we have done it.
“It has become an alternative route for us to be able to start the work from Iwo Road Interchange to Odo-Oba, especially on the bridge. By the grace of God, we are going to start next Monday.
“Also, we have identified another route, Oki-Kumapayi to Olodo, which is 3.8km. We are going to embark on the project so that we can have two alternative routes for our people plying this road.”
The commissioner said work would start on the collapsed Olodo Bridge in earnest and that it would take about six months for the work to be completed.
“On the collapsed Olodo Bridge, as I speak, they have brought some iron steel for us to start the piling of the bridge. By the grace of God, next Wednesday, we will start working on the piling of the bridge.
“But it will take six months to be completed because of the technicalities involved in the process. By then, we will be able to open the road tentatively before we finish up the entire 35.7km road,” he said.
