Residents hail completion of N40bn Port Harcourt/Aba road

Residents of Port Harcourt, Oyigbo and Eleme, who ply  the Port Harcourt Aba road have  expressed joy over the completion of  the 41.5km  Port Harcourt-Aba dual carriage road.  The road, which contract was awarded in 2018, has been opened to road users.   The poor state of the road had been a source of worry […]

Residents of Port Harcourt, Oyigbo and Eleme, who ply  the Port Harcourt Aba road have  expressed joy over the completion of  the 41.5km  Port Harcourt-Aba dual carriage road. 

The road, which contract was awarded in 2018, has been opened to road users.  

The poor state of the road had been a source of worry to motorists especially those who daily travelled to Aba for business. 

While commuters used to spend hours on the road before reaching their destinations vehicle owners suffer damage to their vehicles due to the bad state of the road. 

Some of the motorists who spoke with our reporter expressed joy that the road project has been completed. 

John Umoh a commercial bus driver said: “We are happy that we can now ply the road with ease. Thousands of man hours were lost on this road while lots of damages were done to our vehicles but thank God we are alive to see the completion of the road,” he said.  

Another motorist, Chinweike Abuah said the completion of the road has reduced the stress commuters used to pass through every day 

“The Port Harcourt Aba road was in a terrible state. Motorists spent hours before they could get to their destinations. There were several cases of accidents recorded. Many business operators along the stretch of the road had to relocate.  It was really a bad situation until the road was completed and opened for use,” he said. 

He commended federal government for the timely completion of the road and urged that other road projects in the South South be completed to boost economic activities. 

A businessman, Peter Umoh said that the construction of the road crippled business activities throughout the period the project lasted. 

He commended federal government for completing the road adding that this would boost economic activities in the area. 

However, it was a different story for hawkers who took advantage of the gridlock often experience during the reconstruction of the road to make brisk business. 

One of the hawkers, Jonathan Emele said that he made so much money hawking bread, gala and soft drinks during the construction of the road. 

“The traffic gridlock along the stretch used to last the whole day and we took the advantage to hawk our products.

“But now that the road has been completed my business along the stretch has  ended and it’s really affecting me financially,” he said.