The member representing Arochukwu/Ohafia Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, Chief Ibe Okwara Osonwa, has disclosed plans to commence palliative repair work on the collapsed Igwu bridge, along Bende-Abam -Ohafia road.
Rep Osonwa, disclosed this through a post on his verified Facebook page on Saturday evening.
According to him, the palliative repair work became necessary to “forestall a major disaster”, since the federal government was yet to fund the 2024 budget for the reconstruction of the bridge.
He wrote: “On Thursday the 18th of July 2024, I had the state office of Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA) to visit the Igwu Bridge in Abam to carry out an evaluation of the infrastructure and provide a Bill of Engineering Measurements and Evaluation (BEME) to provide palliative works on the bridge and approach route while we await the overhaul for the Ohafia-Umuahia road that is included in the 2024 budget. It is important to emphasis that the 2024 budget signed at the end of December 2023 is yet to be funded by the government so we are left with having to wait. This palliative work will have to be funded alternatively while we wait patiently for the Federal government to act. This evaluation was done due to the immediate need to forestall a major disaster and ironically I have seen videos today of the flood impact that I foresaw when I asked FERMA to go and carry out the checks.
Let me state that I will continue to reach out to all available contacts to carry out this palliative work that currently has the following as its scope of work:
“Site clearance, scarification of failed sections, pothole patching, provision of lateritic fill, provision of lateritic sub base course on carriageway, provision of crushed stone base materials, provision of prime coat on carriageway, provision of asphaltie concrete binder course, provision of asphaltie wearing course, provision of bridge hand rails.
I will continue to update you on progress and ask all using this route to please be cautious and careful.”
