The Lagos State Government has completed public transport system for Victoria Island, Lagos. The project is primarily designed to provide commuters in the area with different means of public transportation.
It has also embarked on traffic impact assessment on the Eko Atlantic City project, which it said, was necessary to enable it work out effective traffic management strategies for the area.
The Commissioner for Transportation, Mr. Kayode Opeifa recently disclosed this while addressing a stakeholders’ meeting at Iru-Victoria Island on the reconstruction of Akin Adesola road, which would kick off this week.
Opeifa, who addressed the stakeholders’ meeting alongside the Managing Director of Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA), Dr. Dayo Mobereola, said the public transport system for Victoria Island and its environs “has been designed and completed.”
“We already have plan for public transport system for Victoria Island and its environs. The residents of Victoria Island will begin to see more of the BRT and LAGBUS buses on the corridor very soon. Our cable car is getting to the point of implementation. There is a space at Muri Okunola Garden. We have plan for public transportation to address the issue of public transportation in Victoria Island,” he said.
He acknowledged the construction of critical infrastructure at Eko Atlantic City, which, he said, would require traffic impact assessment “to avoid the future gridlocks in Victoria Island.
He said, “What is going on in Atlantic City at the moment is construction of infrastructures. We are doing a detail traffic impact studies on the Eko Atlantic City. For now, we believe that what we need is public transportation for the businesses in Victoria Island.”
On Akin Adesola road, the commissioner expressed concern on the movement of people and business activities on that axis, noting that whenever it “rains, the entire axis is always flooded.
“We commenced the road construction two years ago at the time we started the repair work of Ozumba Mbadiwe road. But we yielded to the demand of Victoria Island & Ikoyi Residents Association (VIRA) that the road should be suspended until the construction of Ozumba Mbadiwe is completed.
“We have met the demands. We have completed the road and embarked on other roads that would serve as access roads. Now, we believe this is the right time to start the reconstruction works,” he said.
Also speaking, Mobereola lamented the manner the residents of the state “are cutting roads without obtaining permits from the regulatory agency,” noting that it was not good.
According to him, “we do not want our roads to cut again and that was why we have started implementing strategies to ensure that everything is implemented during the construction process.”
Director of LAMATA Road management, Mr. Funsho Elulade said the state government “has provided longitudinal and latitudinal road dots to ensure that no one cut the road again. This will assist any companies that intend to lay its cable without cutting the road.”
On the duration of the road project, Elulade said the project would be completed in 12 months, assuring that the state government “will work towards ensuring that the road is completed with the time frame.” – Thisday.
