The Federal Ministry of Environment has begun the reconstruction of a bridge across Inyiokwu River along Onwe Road in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State capital to avert a recurrence of flooding which had over the years ravaged the metropolis.
The state Commissioner for Works and Transport, Chukwuma Nwandugo, said the roads and streets connecting to Onwe Road in Abakaliki had over the years experienced flooding in the area.
He assured that the ongoing reconstruction of the bridge and concrete channelisation of both Iyiokwu and Iyiudele Rivers by the Federal Government would solve the issue of flooding across the state.
He stated that the reconstruction work would deliver a stronger and bigger bridge, adding that the work would be completed within five weeks. He urged motorists to cooperate with government and the contractor handling the project to ensure speedy completion.
“The only mishap is that of flood that has ravaged this environment for many years and it has not been a small mishap. During the flooding at the bridge, there was a motorcycle that fell into the bridge but there was no loss of life. As soon as it is done, all the flood water from this axis will move freely.
“Already, we have built a concrete channel which is very functional; what would have caused this flood is this bridge. So, if we remove the bridge now and build something bigger and better, I’m sure that the flood issue will be over.
“What is going on here is that we are trying to remove the existing box culvert, which we know is no longer functional. We want to remove it and build a brand new one, which will be much higher than this one, so that the flow of water could be a lot easier. The difficulty we are encountering with this particular culvert is that it is very low and water is finding it difficult to pass under it,” Nwandugo said.
The site engineer, Ifeanyi Nwora, who said the contractor had commenced excavating trenches and removing existing structures in the area before proper construction of the bridge would begin, explained that the new bridge would have 3.3-metre-high three-cell culvert, capable of catering for vehicles of all sizes.
It would be recalled that last year’s flooding, which resulted in a delay in constructing the popular Onwe Road bridge, paved the way for flood to take over some parts of the city, including a multi-million naira hotel, Salt Lake, Hope High International School and G-Spot, a popular relaxation centre.
