Commuters worried about state of Delta’s federal highway

Motorists and commuters plying the Benin-Asaba-Abuja Expressway have deplored the state of the road, saying urgent repairs were needed to avert avoidable deaths.

They claimed that the Federal Government had abandoned the road, now overtaken by potholes.

Some of the road users spoke with The Guardian yesterday, calling on the Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA) to promptly remedy the situation.

“The failed portions are very terrible. They can kill drivers who are not conscious of them,” a commuter said.

Another road user noted that the bad spots had been responsible for numerous accidents. He, therefore, called on the authorities to address the issue headlong.

Last month, a pregnant woman and a motorcyclist were reportedly crushed to death on the Warri/Benin failed portions of the highway by a truck, just as four trailers loaded with cement fell into the Iyi-Uku River.

Delta State Commissioner for Information, Patrick Ukah, had described the incidents as unfortunate, noting that the state government had earlier repaired the failed portions of the road which was almost cutting off at the Ogwashi-Uku axis.