Final procurement processes are drawing to a close and reconstruction of the Calabar/Itu highway will commence in a matter of weeks, Bashir Yuguda, Minister of State for Works, has told Liyel Imoke, governor of Cross River State.
Yuguda who was speaking when Imoke received in Calabar added that, were the rail system in the country working, it would have taken the strain off roads like the Calabar/Itu and Calabar/Ikom highways that currently groan under the heavy volume of traffic seen on a daily basis.
While responding to the governor’s demand that all gateway federal roads in the state be put in good shape so the state can leverage on that and successfully drive her tourism initiative, Yuguda revealed that the Ikom/Obudu road which was not captured in the budget, will be provided for in next year’s budget. The Ikom/Ogoja road he added, was being rehabilitated as at press time, in line with government’s commitment to respond to the yearnings of the people.
The Calabar/Itu highway connects Calabar to neighbouring Akwa Ibom, the South-South and Eastern flanks of the country. It has in recent times endured an astronomical upsurge in vehicular traffic which has often resulted in painful gridlocks.
