No Cause for Alarm Over Crack in Yenagoa Flyover, says Govt
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Residents of Yenagoa have no reason to fear over the crack in the overhead bridge in the state capital, says the state government. Already, Julius Berger, the construction giants, have agreed to fix the issue.
The flyover was constructed about 10 years ago during Senator Seriake Dickson administration. Following the alarm raised by netizens, the governor Douye Diri, who went on a first-hand inspection of the flyover on Thursday morning and directed the Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, Moses Teibowei, to immediately fix the crack.
Teibowei, however, allayed any fears during a visit alongside engineers from the ministry, Julius Berger as well as technical committee members of the state chapter of the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN) led by the chairman, Engr. Raymond Awana.
Teibowei said there was no structural defect on the flyover and that the crack posed no threat to motorists. He said the government would engage the construction firm to fix it in order to clear any doubts.
“The crack does not pose any threat to lives or motorists. The construction company has said so. But government would engage it to rectify this small area that has caused the concern,” he said.
Speaking on behalf of Julius Berger, the Bayelsa Site Manager, Engr.Benjamin Chugbo, explained that the opening was due to “a minor settlement” and that it had been there for more than a year.
He said: “This is only a lateral opening that poses no threat. The bridge was constructed about 10 years ago and this will be the first maintenance on it.”
The state COREN technical committee chairman, Raymond Awana, also stated that they had inspected the flyover and maintained that there was no defect.
He said the “settlement” did not affect the structure as it was normal for such openings to occur due to the nature of the terrain of the state and the Niger Delta.
