By Suyi Ayodele

Copyright tribuneonlineng

Commuters and business owners along the Benin-Sapele Expressway have expressed concerns over the slow spate of the repair works being carried out on the road.

They lamented that despite the ongoing repairs of the road, their businesses had continued to suffer because of the snail speed of the repairs.

Signs of the failed road stretching from the Benin By-pass area to the Ologbo-Koko junction, began in 2018 due to poor drainage design or failure to maintain the existing drains.

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The Edo State Government, as part of its palliative intervention, had taken over a portion of the road rehabilitation earlier and embarked Levant Construction Firm with 5.5 kilometres of stone based and reinforced concrete pavement structure already completed.

At a stage the road became near impassable due to political differences between the state government who ought to have done some palliative work, and the Federal Government whose duty it is to rehabilitate the road that linked the West to the South-South corridors.

A resident of Ogheghe by the by-pass, who gave his name as Igbinovia Lucky, lamented that since he parked into his apartment in 2022, it had been a nightmare coming to the city and going back home at close of work.

According to him, more times are spent on the road especially in the evenings when workers are going back home.

He further lamented that most times, “a journey which ordinarily should take an average of 30-45 minutes, last up to five or six hours just from my place of work at the government secretariat to where I live in Ogheghe and same applies to other persons who live along that route or do business on that axis.”

A transporter who plies Benin-Warri route, Sunday Ochuko, said that the bad state of the road had drastically reduced the number of hours and trips per day for him and his other colleagues that ply the route.

“The bad state of the road has increased accident risks occasioned by trucks that often get stuck, tip over, or delay for days, he bemoaned, pointing out that the end result had beent “ncidents of theft, livestock being abandoned or offloaded from trucks, and security concerns including kidnappings along certain stretches.”

He added that “vehicles suffer greater wear and tear with motorists spending more on fuel (due to inefficiencies, slow speeds, detours) and repairs.”

Besides, a fruit seller who buys fruits from Benin to sell in Sapele lamented the delays and losses of goods due to damage, spoilage, or pilferage.

Consequently she said sellers often increase the prices of their goods because transporters who passed along the road increased their fares.

“The corridor is vital for trade between Edo and Delta states (and beyond) but poor road quality makes it harder to move goods efficiently to market, possibly reducing competitiveness”, Ochuko said.

Farmers face similar difficulties transporting produce; some goods spoil or get damaged before reaching markets thus harming their incomes, reduced food supply and raising costs.

“Fares for passengers have nearly doubled on the Benin to Sapele route. Transport operators are making fewer trips per day. Business owner suffer low patronage because the road takes too much time or because vehicles break down. Goods are being damaged,” a business owner at the Ologbo end of the road lamented.