Reason Why FG Reroutes Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway Through East-West Road
The Federal Government is rerouting sections of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway through the existing East-West Road from Ondo State into Edo State to avoid difficult terrain, address flooding challenges and reduce construction costs.
Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, disclosed this on Monday, saying President Bola Tinubu had directed the ministry to use the existing road corridor instead of constructing a new alignment along the affected section.
“Divert, do not do any new alignments. Pass the coastal highway through the existing East-West Road,” Umahi quoted the President as saying.
The minister explained that the decision was also influenced by persistent flooding along the East-West Road, particularly around Ughelli in Delta State, where rising floodwaters have raised concerns about the road’s condition and durability.
According to him, the Federal Government plans to raise vulnerable sections of the road by about two metres above their existing levels to improve resilience against flooding.
Umahi said Delta State Governor Sheriff Oborevwori had intervened over the flooding challenges, while the Federal Government was considering engineering solutions to address the problem.
The minister also defended the realignment of sections of the coastal highway in Ondo State, insisting that the original route presented significant engineering challenges that would have increased construction costs.
Acknowledging petitions against him over the decision, Umahi said the government remained confident that the redesign was necessary.
“I am aware of petitions against me saying I diverted the Ondo section. I welcome that,” he said.
“But the important thing is whether you are doing the right thing or the wrong thing. We have no regret for decisions taken in Ondo.”
He explained that the revised alignment would avoid difficult terrain requiring extensive earthworks and costly filling operations.
According to the minister, contractors had been carrying out filling operations exceeding 10 metres using sharp sand, with the work almost completed.
He said the original route crossed pits more than 100 metres deep and areas where suitable sharp sand was unavailable for construction up to a depth of 300 metres, making the proposed alignment more challenging.
Umahi said the realignment affected sections 4A and 4B, covering 67 kilometres, comprising 27 kilometres in Ogun State and about 40 kilometres in Ondo State.
The corridor would terminate around the Ondo-Edo axis, while the 45-kilometre Benin bypass was designed to ease traffic congestion in Benin City.
Providing an update on the wider coastal highway project, Umahi said the first section, covering 47.47 kilometres from Victoria Island in Lagos, had been completed and was ready for commissioning.
The second section, spanning 55 kilometres and terminating at the Lagos-Ogun boundary, was expected to be completed the following month.
At the Calabar end, sections 3A and 3B, covering 65 kilometres, had recorded more than 30 per cent completion, according to the minister.
He added that construction was ongoing on an 82-kilometre dual carriageway in Akwa Ibom State, alongside an 88-kilometre link from Calabar to Ebidi Beach, intended to connect with the Trans-Saharan route.
Umahi further disclosed that surveys and procurement activities were ongoing for a 129-kilometre dual carriageway from the Edo-Delta boundary to the Delta-Bayelsa boundary.
Construction on the proposed road was expected to begin in November.
The coastal highway is one of the Federal Government’s major road infrastructure projects, intended to improve connectivity along Nigeria’s southern coastline. The latest realignment decisions reflect the government’s stated effort to address difficult terrain, flooding risks and construction costs as work progresses across different sections.
