Nigeria to link Lagos-Calabar highway to East-West Road
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Leadership
Nigerian Works Minister David Umahi confirms that the 750-kilometre Lagos-Calabar coastal highway will be linked to the East-West Road by a link road through Edo State. The connection is to provide an alternative route and support the reconstruction of deteriorated sections, according to Leadership.
Nigeria will link the 750-kilometre Lagos-Calabar coastal highway to the East-West Road in Edo State, Works Minister David Umahi said on Friday during an interview with Arise Television reported by Leadership.
David Umahi said the highway’s initial route remained unchanged and that a link road would be built to the East-West Road. He acknowledged that the term “diversion” had been used incorrectly and said design studies for the link were under way.
The connection is intended to provide an alternative route and support the reconstruction of sections of the East-West Road, some of which have deteriorated and are now below flood levels, according to the minister. The coastal project is to pass through Lagos, Ogun, Ondo, Edo, Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers, Akwa Ibom and Cross River states.
The announcement comes after criticism of the feasibility of the coastal highway, including criticism voiced on 15 October by Donald Duke, a former governor of Cross River. Donald Duke’s criticism of the Lagos-Calabar highway concerned the initial project, while David Umahi is defending the addition of a link to the East-West Road here.
