As southern parkway in FCT coasts into completion

The usual traffic gridlock being experienced around Area 11 in the FCT, especially during events at the National Mosque and the Christian Ecumenical Centre is gradually becoming a thing of the past as the critical Southern Parkway road coasts into completion. This 6 kilometer road which was awarded in 2010 was left unattended to by […]

The usual traffic gridlock being experienced around Area 11 in the FCT, especially during events at the National Mosque and the Christian Ecumenical Centre is gradually becoming a thing of the past as the critical Southern Parkway road coasts into completion. This 6 kilometer road which was awarded in 2010 was left unattended to by previous administration, despite the traffic bottlenecks experienced around the area.
The road begins around the Area 11 Mosque, passing behind the NTA headquarters and stretches down to the Christian Ecumenical Centre as well as the NNPC office down to ring road one by old Secretariat building. It is a complex road that traverses four key roads in the city’s main business districts of Garki, and Central Business District.
With the completion of this road, motorists rather than relying solely on the Ahmadu Bello way and the hitherto overstretched Emeka Anyaoku street that passes in front of the FCDA building and the NTA to connect Nnamdi Azikiwe road, can now drive on the Southern Park way from CBN headquarters and pass behind NTA to reach FCDA/FCTA, towards ICRC, or connect the Ahmadu Bello way in front of the FCTA Secretariat complex.
The Southern Parkway is the twin of the Northern Parkway which starts from the National Mosque and goes through Mabuchi down to Life Camp and beyond. The administration is said to be working hard to complete this project before the end of next year and the target is to deliver the road up to the Muhamadu Buhari Way by the end of this year.
Abuja residents and other observes would agree that the near completion of this road has made motoring around the area a pleasure. It is a departure from the traffic snarl that bedeviled the narrow strip of driveway connecting the FCTA Secretariat from the Tafawa Balewa Way. The connecting strips before now were either clouded with dust during the dry season or mashed up with mud during the raining season which made driving to government establishments located in these areas very unpleasant.
Already, the east-end of the road complex, connecting the FCTA/FCDA Secretariats, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), National Christian Centre, Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) and the Infrastructure Concession and Regulatory Commission (ICRC) is at its home-stretch.
As the road nears completion, the FCT secretariat, NTA, National Christian Centre and surrounding areas are beginning to experience traffic relief and ease of navigability. The abandonment of the road for years had made access to these institutions and surrounding areas difficult.
The Southern Parkway, in the Abuja Master Plan forms the major spine of the Capital City and one of the longest Abuja roads from the Central Business District traversing all the four phases of the Federal Capital City, with facilities like streetlights, recreational, café centres and under passes among others. It is designed to complement the Northern Parkway, the major arterial running across Mabushi.
Replacement of stolen equipment has also been seen as another landmark achievement of this present administration. As at inception of this government, the whole place was a plethora of open manholes. But these stolen manhole covers are today being replaced with new models that are durable and uneconomical to steal, which is equally very commendable.
It has also been observed that work has reached advanced stages on the B6 and B12 roads also known as the Independence and Constitution avenue which will enable going to the airport road on dual mode.
The ramps by the NNPC after the Tofa building heading to the National Stadium have also been constructed and opened and have been of immense use in the evacuation of traffic immediately after the Friday Jumuat prayers at the National Mosque. It is among the more than 20 ramps, flanks and tangent roads which were taken up by the present administration and they have helped to break the traffic bottleneck in major intersections of the city.
Danladi Akilu, Abuja