The Director, Federal
Highways, South-West, Alhaji Kabir Abdullahi, has said that a solution had been found to the problem of high water table causing damage to some sections of the Oshodi/Apapa Expressway.
Abdullahi told our correspondent in Lagos, that the Federal Ministry of Works had developed a special design to tackle the problem on the highway.
Our correspondent reports that the high water table had continually led to deterioration of the road after rehabilitation, causing flooding and traffic snarls.
In 2013, Julius Berger, the contractor handling reconstruction of the highway, discovered that the high water table was responsible for the failure on some section of the road.
Our correspondent reports that engineers on site had also raised concerns of possible artesian wells on some portions which needed rigid concrete pavement instead of asphalt, to resolve the problem.
The director told our correspondent that the problem was tackled through a method called ‘subsoil drain’.
He said that some filters were provided under the rigid pavements of the road, to drain water.
“The level of the water table varies from one place to the other and we tackle them according to the depth.
“We could meet 200 to 300 metres and we fix it and in another place it may be 50 metres and we continue fixing it as we go.
“It all depends on the condition of the road at various points,” he said.
The director said that the ministry had seized the opportunity of the dry season to begin work on the affected portions.
According to him, the high vehicular volume and reckless driving by impatient motorists are, however, slowing down the pace of reconstruction of the highway.
“We are involving the Federal Road Safety Commission and other traffic stakeholders to manage the problem,” he said.
The director said that the road was nearing 40 per cent completion.