Ayade reassures completion of flyover, superhighway before end of tenure

The Cross River State governor, Senator Ben Ayade has reassured that the construction of the Odukpani Flyover and phase one of the Superhighway would be completed before the end of his tenure next month.

The state governor reiterated this yesterday during a tour of the projects at the ever-busy Odukpani Junction, which serves as the artery into Calabar from the Central and Northern parts of the state as well as Uyo.

Ayade who hinted that the perennial gridlock would soon be a thing of the past explained that construction of the spaghetti flyover and the first phase of the superhighway will serve as a bye-pass.

He, however, commended the local contractors handling the project for an excellent job, saying they can compete favourably with their foreign counterparts.

“elections are over and we are back to work fully. Here, we are standing at the phase one section which is ready for asphalting.

“This Flyover is intended to bypass the Odukpani junction which is a real nightmare for commuters. It takes you straight and empties you into the Odukpani axis of the Calabar- Itu road onward Uyo and Port Harcourt.

“This road has been a nightmare to commuters but it will soon be a thing of the past because the flyover and the dual carriage road constructed by our administration have been done from Calabar up to the point where we are to ease troubles motorists have been facing.

“The project will be ready for commissioning before l leave office, an indication that we are committed to finishing strong.”

Explaining why his administration opted for local contractors for the project, Ayade said, “What is interesting is that the majority of our contractors are locals. This contract is being handled by Faithplant owned by a very hardworking young Cross Riverian and we are working with Zecca, another competent indigenous construction company.

“So this is a special message for Nigerians; indigenous contractors are as good as foreign contractors. All that is required is to award them the contract in the same sum you award foreign contractors.” The governor stated.