The Federal Government has dismissed some media reports on the ongoing reconstruction and expansion of the Ore–Ondo–Akure expressway, saying the project met international engineering standards.
A viral video recently showed some part of the road and alleged that some of the materials used in the construction of the road were substandard. The video also raised other concerns about the road.
But the Minister of Works, Engnr. David Umahi, during an on-site inspection of the project on Thursday, said the concerns raised over the road construction were unnecessary as the construction design was already in line with global best practices.
Represented by the Federal Controller of Works in Ondo State, Engineer Olajide Hussein, the minister reiterated that the project followed approved specifications from the Federal Ministry of Works, explained that the variation in reinforcement between the main carriageway and the shoulders was due to their different structural functions.
According to him, the outer shoulders are meant for occasional use, such as emergency stops, diversions, or breakdowns, and therefore require lighter materials.
He said, “We saw the viral video and the complainant specifically mentioned the use of wire mesh on the outer shoulders and suggested that the contractor use the same heavy reinforcement here on the carriageway where we are standing with the outer shoulders. We need to make some clarifications. There is a functional difference between the main carriageway and the outer shoulder. So there are also structural differences in their construction.
“The main carriageway is the central part of the road pavement, and it is used for continuous traffic, with very heavy traffic loads running constantly. We have trailers, trucks, buses, and other kinds of articulated vehicles, so they experience very high flexural stresses and have to be designed to counter these forces.
“The outer shoulder, on the other hand, is expected to carry only occasional loads, maybe for diversions, maybe a vehicle breaks down and needs to be removed from the main carriageway to aid continuation of traffic, or for short stops to pick and drop passengers. So it doesn’t experience this continuous axle load, and it is designed with minimal reinforcement.
The minister further explained that the use of A142 wire mesh, which was on the outer shoulder, was a standard practice all over the world, in Nigeria and internationally.
“It is a standard practice. We use heavy reinforcement, which you can see on the carriageway, because of the flexural stresses, and we use light wire meshes on the outer shoulders because they don’t carry as much load as I have explained.
“So if you go to all our single-carriageway rigid road constructions nationwide, you will find a similar design. It is not peculiar to the Ore–Ondo–Akure Road. It is not peculiar to Ondo State. It is a highway standard found in Nigeria and internationally.”
The minister also clarified that the project was not a dualization road as widely believed, but a single carriageway with newly introduced shoulders for better traffic management and safety. He noted that the road, which measures 86.43 kilometres, stretches from Ore through Ondo to Akure, with each side having a 7.3-metre-wide main lane and 2.75-metre shoulders.
PUNCH Online earlier reported that the Akure- Ondo- Ore highway project was listed among the 13 road projects approved by the Federal Executive Council in July 2024.
Umahi, who briefed journalists after the FEC meeting, said, “We have the Ore-Ondo-Akure Road, which is under special intervention due to flooding. It is 24 months long and has a total contract sum of N134bn in favour of CBC Nigeria Limited, which will use concrete because of the terrain.”
