Oyo Govt pledges immediate action to tackle flood menace -

Oyo State Government said it had taken immediate action on the flooded Olodo area of Ibadan, caused by the small-side culvert on the Olodo River.

The permanent secretary, Ministry of Public Works and Transport, Mr Tajudeen Raji, said this on Wednesday when he paid on-the-spot assessment to the affected Olodo community and the bridge.

Raji assured residents of Olodo and its environs that it had taken appropriate action to replace the culvert with a 2-span bridge, to tackle flood reoccurrence in the area.

It was reported that a downpour in the area resulted in serious flooding because the existing culvert on the river could not accommodate the volume of water passing under it.

” The culvert was not adequate to accommodate the volume of water arising from the heavy rain, hence government, under the leadership of Gov. Seyi Makinde,decided to replace the culvert with a two-span bridge.

“This will curtail flooding that might occur as a result of subsequent heavy rainfall.

“Now, we have paid an on-the-spot assessment to the site of the bridge in order to have a proper assessment of the situation on ground.

“In the course of our assessment we discovered that it is better that we have a 2-span bridge which is about 30 metres, that is 15 metres each.

“With the two openings from every 15 metres, the water will be able to flow freely no matter the volume of water and by implication prevent the flooding of the area.”

“I can assure the community and all road users on this route that there will be significant improvement in the spate of the construction works in order to ensure timely completion of the project,” Raji said.

Addressing the Flood Woes

Raji appealed to the residents of the area to bear with the Oyo Government, adding that a proactive action had been taken to prevent a reoccurrence.

The Project Manager of Peculiar Ultimate Concern Limited, handling the construction of the two-span bridge, Mr Israel Eleta, explained that with the new approval to replace the culvert with a bridge, the project would be ready soon.

Eleta said palliative measures had been put in place to ease traffic in terms of filling the potholes and the expansion of the construction area.