Free flow of vehicular movement on the Warri Central Hospital road has resumed following the rehabilitation of the failed portion of the road which hitherto hampered emergency responses of the hospital.
The rehabilitation was executed and completed in six days by the authorities of the Warri South Local Government.
The rehabilitated failed portion of the Warri Central Hospital road connects to the second gate of the hospital, which gives quick and easy access to the Accident/Emergency Unit and the morgue.
The road also leads to other sensitive organs of government like the ‘A’ Division of the Nigeria Police Force, the Federal High Court and other courts.
The respite being felt by vehicle owners following the completion of the rehabilitation also extends to shop owners whose businesses were affected by the deplorable condition of the road.
The rehabilitation was initially scheduled to be completed in seven days, but with all hands on deck, it was completed in six days, according to the supervisor of the job for Warri South Council, Pastor David Erhinyodavwe and the Site Engineer, Engr. Sylvester Ebeye.
Chairman of Warri South Local Government, Dr Michael Tidi, whose administration has been highly commended by the management of the Warri Central Hospital, said that the rehabilitation of the failed portion was based on the strategic nature of the road and in line with the ‘Zero Potholes’ initiative of his administration for Warri metropolis.
Tidi said, “Sometime last year we started what my administration termed ‘Zero Potholes’ in Warri metropolis. We were able to intervene in two important and busy areas in the local government area, Estate Roundabout some time August, and September we intervened at the Mclver Market Roundabout leading to Odion, Iyara axis and the Warri Stadium.
“We decided to take up such project to complement the Urban Renewal effort of the state government. We all know the importance of this road, the access road leading to the Warri Central Hospital, the mortuary, ‘A’ Division of the Nigeria Police Force, the Federal High Court, State High Court, Magistrate Court and even the Police Area Command.
“We felt that is strategic location and there was the need for that road to be passable because as at when we intervened it was not motorable at all. I am very impressed because I was there two days back on the spot assessment and the Chief Medical Director (CMD) of the Central Hospital Warri equally came to commend us.”
The Warri South Council explained that going forward it is expected that shop owners and others who do business in and around the road cultivate the habit of proper disposal of their waste so that the drains are not blocked again with its attendant effects on the road.
He therefore urged residents of Warri South to desist from the indiscriminate disposal of their refuse and make use of approved Public, Private Participants, PSPs, and the Council’s trucks which go round for waste collection.
“Firstly, we saw that they were not always helpful because we found out that they indiscriminately dispose their waste and blocked the canals. We didn’t even envisage what we did there. We had to open up the canals for the water to discharge properly.
“We were able to evacuate their waste. Waste that they ought to evacuate by themselves. There are PSPs all over the place. We have trucks that go round Warri and environs to evacuate waste. They ought to have taken advantage of the services of the Warri South Environmental Team as well as that of the PSPs,” Tidi emphasized.
