No Structural Defects On Inaugurated Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway Section, Umahi Assures

THE Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, has dismissed reports that some sections of Phase 1 of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, recently inaugurated by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, have structural defects, insisting what was erroneously viewed as cracks on parts of the completed 30 kilometres were “untreated sand-filled shoulders’’ of the highway and not the main carriageway.
Making the clarification during a news conference in Abuja, Umahi, an engineer, stressed: “These cracks are not on any section of the actual road; they appeared on the untreated sand shoulders and are the result of natural water erosion.”
At the briefing by the ministry to give updates on ongoing road construction and rehabilitation efforts across the country, the minister restated that “no completed section of the carriageway will crack once we complete the underground drainage and ducting systems.”
He disclosed that a new contract was being finalised by the ministry and the Lagos State Government to complete service lanes and integrate necessary drainage infrastructure on the Lagos section of the 700-kilometre coastal highway to ensure long-term integrity of the project.
He stated that the Third Mainland and Carter Bridges in Lagos would remain closed to heavy-duty vehicles until final technical evaluations, adding: “Over-height trucks have caused structural damage to several flyovers.
“To address this, we are designing reinforced gantries fitted with spikes and increasing the clearance height from 5.6 metres to 6.5 metres to prevent further damage and ensure public safety.”
Umahi said government was intensifying interventions on multiple highways, bridges and strategic corridors to boost connectivity and economic resilience, assuring that “no project will be abandoned” despite funding challenges, as President Bola Tinubu had directed ministries to explore new funding sources.
Umahi stated that only contractors with capacity and financial commitment would be allowed to proceed with their contracts, noting: “We must see the money, the equipment and the commitment. And when a contractor is removed, there must be no more than a one-week gap before the next takes over.”