BY ANAYO OKOLI
UMUAHIA — BARELY three months after the busy Enugu-Okigwe-Umuahia-Port Harcourt federal road was rehabilitated under the supervision of FERMA, some portions of the road have gone bad again.
When reputable contractors like Julius Berger and Setraco were mobilised to rehabilitate the road, especially the Okigwe-Umuahia axis which was then a real death trap, motorists and commuters jubilated but their joy has turned out a temporary one.
This is because potholes have developed on the road, especially in the middle, endangering the lives of road users.
The potholes are mostly located between Ezinachi in Okigwe and Ofeme in Umuahia, a portion handled by one of the major contractors.
However, the stretch from Umuahia-back to Okigwe is in a better condition.
Even FERMA, which has its name advertised at several points along the road, has not made any effort to patch the new potholes.
Motorists and other road users are wondering what would happen when the rains come in full force.
The pace of rehabilitation work between Umuahia and Aba is abysmally slow, subjecting road users to unnecessary traffic snarls.
“When we saw the big contractors mobilized on this road late last year, we were very happy that we would have a good road that would last for long.
“But even what they did, only repairing the road with mixtures that looked like concrete surprised us.
“The road, especially the lane from Okigwe to Umuahia is not smooth. We had thought that the contractors would asphalt it but they never did and that is why you see some portions already going bad.
“Let the Federal Government do this road once and for all by fully mobilizing the contractors so that the people using this road will for one heave a sigh of relief,” lamented a motorist, who gave his name simply as Emmanuel.
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