Relief is in sight for motorists using the Lagos-Ota-Abeokuta Expressway as the construction firm, Craneburg, has begun work on the much-needed reconstruction of the busy road.

The official groundbreaking ceremony for the reconstruction is scheduled for Friday, 23 August, and will be led by Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun.

Craneburg mobilized its equipment to the site 10 days ago to start palliative measures, ensuring one side of the road is passable while full-scale construction begins on the other side.

The completed palliative measures have improved sections of the road including Sango-Ota, Pakoto, Ifo, Ewekoro, Itori, and Obada, with stone bases placed on the worst portions to ease travel while the reconstruction is underway.

The federal road has been in a state of disrepair for over 20 years. The road was finally transferred to the state government earlier this year by the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, following numerous prior efforts.

Governor Abiodun noted that bureaucratic delays had hindered the reconstruction of the road.

Reflecting on the attempts by both Ogun and Lagos state governments to take control and repair the expressway, Abiodun mentioned that these efforts were stalled by federal government delays.

According to the Governor, with the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the federal government was once again approached for the road’s transfer to the state, a request that was successfully granted.

He stated, “The Abeokuta-Ota-Lagos road is a federal road and has been in terrible condition for a long time. Due to the hardships faced by our people on the road, my counterpart in Lagos and I jointly wrote to the federal executive council, requesting the road be handed over to us for reconstruction.

“After waiting for a month without a response, we sent a reminder. The road was not transferred to us until the current federal government took office.

“The contract for the road was awarded in May of this year.”