Lagos completes Badagry asphalt plant, pledges to fix more roads

Apart from construction of the two plants, employed of 105 additional artisans as maintenance gang members are all geared up towards boosting the operational activities of the corporation by ensuring that Lagos experience motor-able and pot-hole free roads at all times.

IF the assurances by the Lagos State Public Works Corporation (LSPWC), is anything to go by, then, more deplorable roads in the state would be fixed in the new few months.

The corporation last week said, it would speed up on its mandate of delivering good road infrastructure throughout the state, as a newly completed asphalt plant in Badagry would significantly boost its operation.
To reduce the hiccups usually associated with road maintenance work, the state had some months ago delivered Imota asphalt plant; it also recently completed another one, located in Badagry.

The plant, installed at 120 tons capacity was designed to serve Apapa, Mile-2, Badagry Okokomaiko, FESTAC axis, respectively, as Imota plant serves Ikordu, Epe, Ibeju-Lekki and axis, among others.
Apart from construction of the two plants, government last week, employed 105 artisans as maintenance gang members to its team so as to boost the ongoing activities of the corporation by ensuring that Lagos experience motor-able and pot-hole free roads at all times.

General Manager, of the Corporation, Mr. Ayotunde Shodeinde, disclosed that the zeal to step up the corporation’s operational strategy necessitated the employment of additional 105 people to complement the efforts of the already existing 33 gangs, noting that the employment will further strengthen road maintenance activities in all the 20 Local Government Councils and 37 Local Council Development Authority in the state.

Speaking on the newly completed plant, Sodeinde, an engineer, said the development would facilitate the corporation’s goal of repairing 189 roads across the state.
“For the past six months, 280 roads have been attended to, while 189 would be fixed before the end of the year, especially, now that brain has subdued”, said the general manager, adding that many of these roads had been put in good shape, due to the availability of men and material resources.

Investigation by The Guardian revealed massive maintenance activities in Ikorodu, especially, in places like Lucky Fibre, Imota, Maya, Adamo all in Ikorodu area, while Okegun, Ibeju, Elerangbe in Ibeju-Lekki area are witnessing the presence of LSPWC.

Similarly, works are on going at Metal Box, Acme Road, Ejigbo, Ikotun-Ijegun, Afanla, Epe-Ijebun Ode, among others, while government is also working on the bad portion at Ile Epo Road.

Sodeinde also said the Lagos State Government had worked on 117 Federal Government roads in the state over which the state is being owed over N50 billion, assuring that the state would expend the sum to fix more roads when it is paid.
Reaffirming the mandate of the corporation, Sodeinde said: “Governor Akinwunmi Ambode had mandated the 57 councils in the state to repair two roads each within their domains, disclosing that the roads, with street lights, would cost the councils N19 billion.

Apart from access to materials, Shodeinde stated that there is a special programme for capacity development programmes put in place to ensure efficient and effective project delivery.
Besides, apart from the city-centre, the corporation’s chief said its operations would go simultaneously in the sub-urban and major roads in every local government area.

While appealing to Lagos residents for patience for the inconveniences caused by the road maintenance activities, Shodeinde said that in the days ahead, LSPW would assume a more robust dimension, which will enable a greater number of residents to feel its impact.

Although, the corporation’s executive chairman assured that the two asphalt plants in Agbowa and Badagry, have put the corporation in a good stead to effectively put the affected roads in a better condition.

According to him, Agbowa plants would serve local governments close to it while the one Badagry would serve similar function. “So, issue of transporting the materials to the sites would no longer be a problem, while proximity of asphalt plant locations would save time, it would by extension, accelerate work rate by the workers.

Shodeinde therefore, appealed to road users to maintain decorum in the use of the infrastructure. “Although, we are usually constrained by weather condition in carrying out maintenance work, especially during wet season, but we have continued to maintain our presence on Lagos roads despite the rains, so as to address critical sections of our major roads, using paving stones and palliative approaches”, he said.
 
 He, however, assured Lagos residents that all the state roads would wear a new look again as the corporation’s effort in maintaining and rehabilitating them is now receiving a boost.

Some major qualities of the plant include its ability to accurately meter the different aggregates used in the mix to the drying drum, which has been made possible with the cold feed bins and the bitumen storage capacity of the plant, which he put at 300 tons.

Officials informed that the emission control system of the plant would guarantee hazard-free environmental. “This will occur as a result of production of asphalt while the reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) will allow the use of asphalt pavements removed from old roads to be reused in the production system, thereby helping the corporation to save up to 35 percent cost on raw aggregate materials each time the component is used.”

Experts said that Marini Asphalt Plant will help the Corporation to implement a five-year strategic road map, which aims at ensuring high standards of road maintenance and improve infrastructural development across the city of more than 20 million people.

The new model allows a highly flexible asphalt plant with high quantity usage of asphalt-technologies/recycled-asphalt/”recycled asphalt pavement], in order to break with a country-wide tradition of failing to recycle existing asphalt pavement.
“For this reason, they firstly decided to pre-treat the asphalt in order to control the quality of the old bitumen and the size of the recovered aggregates (the highest quality of the final product has always been a priority in the technical discussion) and it was decided to choose a plant solution with one line to the dryer (recycling ring) with up to 35percent recycling.

Other points evaluated were the possibility to control, in the best possible way, the metering processes (for single components), the ability to frequently change the formula in production, and the possibility of producing small quantities of asphalt. There was also said to be a focus on maximum plant efficiency, the production of special products (possibility to use coloured additives and fibres), and the environment and working conditions.
“LSPWC requested a special bitumen supply facility, and the plant at Imota has a total bitumen storage capacity of 300 tonnes, granted by six vertical tanks. The operator can easily change the type of bitumen during the HMA (hot mix asphalt) production and can also order the bitumen from the supplier who will deliver within an agreed timeframe”, an official hinted.