Motorists and commuters plying the Government Reservation Area, Benin, Edo State, have continued to groan over the deplorable state of the roads.
With the rainy season peaking and most of the area without drainage, most of the roads are now with potholes, while some turn into mini ponds after heavy rain.
The issue is made worse as transporters now use the GRA to link the farther part of Sapele Road through the Country Home Road to avoid bad spots on Benin-Sapele Road.
A drive around the GRA on Tuesday shows the level of decay. Boundary Road towards Adesuwa Road and Airport is always waterlogged when it rains, with the water receding after three or four days.
Ihama Road is also not spared, as the road is almost completely cut off close to Adesuwa Road, same for Akhionbare Road.
The same situation plays out along Giwa Amu Road from the Airport Port Road end, and Gapiona Road, where floodwater has formed artificial lakes, subjecting motorists to hardship as they meander through the ponds.
Almost all the roads around Commercial Avenue, where the official lodge of the Deputy Governor is located, the tail end of Golf Road by the 4th Brigade Headquarters gate, Aiguobaswin Crescent and the adjoining roads, are filled with potholes and always flooded after it rains.
The Reservation Road that leads to Osadebey Avenue, where the Government House is located, is usually heavily flooded anytime it rains, despite the palliative works carried out recently.
One of the commercial vehicle operators, who gave his name as Paul, said the transporters had no choice but to take the GRA to link Sapele Road through Country Home Road.
He said, “There is nothing we can do other than to pass through the GRA. The Adesuwa junction, Limit Road junction on Sapele Road are bad, so we need to go through the GRA if we don’t want to finish our earnings on vehicle repairs.”
Another motorist, Osaro Osagie, noted that the deplorable condition of the roads in the GRA has become an embarrassment. He noted that navigation through the area has become a big task due to potholes.
“The rain has finally exposed the GRA. Even the road on which the governor’s house is situated is not motorable towards the Ikpokpan axis. That part of the road has a slope which retains water, and every attempt by past administrations to rehabilitate the road has failed.
“Hopefully, this government can find a lasting solution to the bad roads, lack of drainage and flooding in the GRA. A journey that should take you between 20 minutes and 30 minutes can take you over an hour.”
Edo State Commissioner for Communication and Orientation, Paul Ohonbamu, gave the assurance that the roads would be fixed. He said that the state government would adopt a holistic approach to fixing the bad roads and the accompanying flooding problems in the GRA.
Ohonbamu cautioned that any rush to fix roads in the GRA without addressing the real problems would worsen the conditions of the roads.
The Commissioner said that Governor Okpebholo would not want to do haphazard jobs in the GRA.
“When it is done, we know it is done and not haphazard work. It is going to be holistic,” he noted.
