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Ex-ACAN president proffers solution to Lagos gridlock

An Architect, Olusegun Ladega, on Thursday called for a strategic engineering evaluation of the prevailing problems of bad roads and gridlock in Lagos State, toward solving the problems.

Ladega, a former President, Association of Consulting Architects Nigeria (ACAN), on the sidelines of the 2019 ACAN Symposium and Business forum in Lagos.

He said that in dealing with bad roads, issue of quality construction, methodology and specification, among other factors must be considered and addressed.

Ladega, also Managing Director, Interstate Architect Ltd. noted that the peculiar weather condition, road abuse by users, quality of construction, heavy duty vehicles, were among the factors promoting bad roads.

“They opened the dam from Osun State and Lagos became a recipient of the flood because of its peculiar location.

“There are solutions to the gridlock, though the solutions may not come overnight but we have to deal with the issue of heavy duty vehicles, road abuse, bad vehicles, among other factors on our roads,” he said.

Ladega explained that a number of things must be understood when complaining about the prevailing bad roads in the state, as there was an extreme weather pattern this year.

He said that the rain this year had been unseasonable, while the period available for construction outdoor had been drastically reduced by the prolonged rainfall.

“This may not repeat itself next year but the intervals between extreme weather patterns are also increasing, so we must plan ahead.

“The last experience we had was in 2017. Before then we had same in 2012 which was about five year’s interval.

“Between 2017 and this year is two years and we don’t know how higher the frequency might go,” he said.

According to him, the government and engineers must involve fast track record and bring in technologies that would enable them cover more areas faster.

Ladega said that such technologies existed but government must encourage its acquisition by introducing measures such as duty waiver, duty concessions and others.

He suggested a Built Environment Industry Intervention Fund that would enable engineers to acquire technologies for faster construction as the window of dry season is now shortened.

“Following the shortened window of dry weather, we need a response to enable us work faster and smarter at quantum measures and the government must intervene.

“Since the government is not in the business of major engineering construction, it has to make business conducive for the practitioners to acquire equipment that can work faster in an adverse weather.

“For a practitioner to invest in such equipment, he or she must have a level of guarantee of patronage.

“Must have access to business and fund at a reasonable interest rate or an intervention fund from government,” Ladega said.

 

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