The Federal Government has constituted a Presidential Inter-Agency Committee for Evacuation of Trucks and Trailers along the Right of Way of Abuja-Kaduna-Kano highway to ease vehicular movement and reduce damage on the shoulders of the highway before the end of the year, IgbereTV reports.
The Director of Highway Construction and Rehabilitation, Federal Ministry of Works and Housing who is also the Chairman of the Committee, Engr. Folorunsho Esan disclosed this during an inspection tour of the road.
Engr. Esan, said the ministry would provide a temporary park at Tafa, along Kaduna road, where the vehicles can park adding that the park would accommodate about 500 trucks when fully operationalized thereby helping to address the problems of road access and insecurity in the area.
According to him, “The Committee was set up by the Minister of Works and Housing, H.E Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN with directives from Mr. President for trucks to be evacuated from the Abuja-Kaduna-Kano road so that the contractors can take full possession to enable a hitch free work on the road,” he said.
He added that the purpose of the inspection was to assess areas where the trucks could be relocated to away from the Right of Way. “Also, road users can have free passage without bottlenecks. So we are here to inspect facilities that are available where trucks can now be moved to,” he explained.
Continuing, the Chairman said that Tafa axis of the road was more troublesome, but added that there was provision where the trucks would be moved to.
“One of the very pronounced bottleneck is in Tafa and fortunately enough, we have an empty land acquired by Federal Road Maintenance Agency although they have not been able to do anything on it.
“But we are thinking of moving the trucks from Tafa to that plot of land after some ground improvements on the land for trailers to be able to stay without sinking,” he said.
On collaboration, he said various unions like the Tanker Drivers NARTO, NURTW, and others are in support of government to move their trucks from the road anytime the trailers park is ready along that axis
