Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State has called on the Federal Government to consider the concession of federal roads passing through states to the respective state governments.
He said this had become necessary to guarantee road lifespans as, according to him: “the current roads maintenance model has failed woefully.’’
Mbah made his suggestion when he inspected a flyover bridge that collapsed on Monday on the Enugu part of the Enugu-Port Harcourt federal highway.
“It shows clearly that we do not have a sound federal road maintenance model. There is a need to adopt a new road maintenance model.
“The bridge did not just collapse. These threats could have been identified if we had routine or regular maintenance.
“The way to go is to find a way to concession these roads to states.
“States should take charge of roads within their domains and there has to be a conversation around the funding models,’’ Mbah stressed.
The governor thanked God that no life was lost in Monday’s accident.
“Today, we are here witnessing a tragedy that has just occurred. We were fortunate that no life was lost, but this could have been prevented.
“People can no longer ply this route because of this tragedy,’’ he said.
According to the Enugu State Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, Mr. Gerald Otiji, commuters are advised to avoid the area of the collapsed bridge and instead use alternative routes to reach their destinations.
Mr. Otiji has assured the public that these alternate routes will remain open until the government can implement measures to immediately repair the failed section of the bridge.
(NAN)
