The Federal Government says only five buildings will be fully demolished to make way for service lanes and drainage infrastructure along the Lagos Calabar Coastal Highway, while 142 others will be partially affected as it seeks to address flooding and traffic access along the corridor.
The disclosure was made at a stakeholders’ engagement in Lagos where President Bola Tinubu, represented by Babajide Sanwo-Olu, the Lagos State Governor, and Minister of Works, David Umahi reaffirmed the government’s commitment to completing the coastal highway and improving infrastructure around it.
The proposed service lanes are designed to provide controlled access to the highway, ease movement within communities along the corridor and create drainage channels to move floodwater into the Lagos Lagoon.
Umahi said the government was aware of the sensitivity around demolishing properties and had made several adjustments to the proposed alignment to reduce the impact on residents and businesses.
‘Very few houses will have to go. Very serious engineering calculations, prudence and decisions were made with the National Assembly committees on works,’ he said.
‘We are very sensitive about the demolition of buildings, but for the flooding problem to be solved, for service lanes to be introduced and for lives along this corridor to be improved, we have decided, courageously, to make this presentation to you.’
According to the project team, 97 structures on the northern side of the highway, towards Lekki and Lagos bound traffic, will be partially affected, while another 50 structures on the southern side towards the coastline will also be partially affected. Only five structures are expected to be fully demolished.
The government said it had also changed some sections of the proposed alignment to save buildings that would otherwise have been affected.
In one section, a detour through an existing road at Edward Oton Street was approved to avoid the demolition of 17 structures. At another location around Meadow Old Way, the service lane alignment was adjusted to protect a major high-rise investment.
The service lane will begin around Water Corporation Drive, which is expected to be rehabilitated into a dual carriageway with two lanes in each direction. Four structures along the road will be partially affected, while 15 structures around Ayodele Odubiyi Street are also expected to be affected.
Further along the corridor, structures around Goshen Estate, Meadow Old Way and the Mayegun area will be partially affected.
The government said most of the affected structures would not be completely demolished.
Beyond traffic management, the service lanes are being designed as part of a wider flood control plan for communities along the coastal highway.
Project engineers said surveys had been carried out on existing drainage outflows around Lagos, including Kuramo Waters, Nike Art Gallery, the Sewa Bay Channel, Bayeku Channel, Mafi Adetoro Channel, Ogombo Channel and the Ipota River.
The proposed drainage system will connect the highway’s culverts to these existing outflow channels and direct water away from surrounding communities.
‘We believe that when the design is completed, we will be able to channel most of the floodwater from the surrounding communities, as well as rainwater falling directly on the highway, into the parallel drains that will be constructed along the service lane,’ the project team said.
The Lagos State Government is already constructing some of the drainage infrastructure, including a channel around the Nike Art Gallery area. Federal officials said the highway drainage design would be connected to such ongoing projects.
The plan is for major longitudinal drains to run alongside the service roads, allowing water from nearby communities to flow into the drainage network before being discharged into designated outflow channels.
Sanwo-Olu said the President remained committed to infrastructure development and would continue to support projects aimed at improving connectivity and economic activity across the country.
‘He will stop at nothing to ensure that every part of this country receives monumental development concurrently,’ Sanwo-Olu said.
He said the administration would continue to work with state governments and other stakeholders to address challenges affecting major infrastructure projects.
‘We don’t tear down what our predecessors built; we build upon it,’ he said.
Sanwo-Olu also pointed to the Federal Government’s intervention in Lagos infrastructure, including repairs work on Eko Bridge and Marine Bridge.
He said the government was also seeking to provide additional relief to communities along the coastal highway through the construction of slip roads and improved drainage connections to the Lagos Lagoon.
Umahi said construction of the Lagos Calabar Coastal Highway was progressing across several sections, despite criticism over the project’s feasibility.
He said Lot 1 had been completed, while Lot 2 was more than 80 percent complete.
‘In fact, Lot 1 has since been completed, and Lot 2 is over 80 percent done. We are in Ondo. We were there the other day. We have done over 30 percent of the job in Calabar and Akwa Ibom,’ Umahi said.
He said work had also begun on what he described as the largest section, covering 180 kilometres with two carriageways.
‘We are just left with the Bayelsa, the Delta, Rivers and then the Edo sections,’ he said.
The minister said the highway was being developed as a major transport corridor that would improve movement, support trade and open up coastal communities.
The project, being constructed by Hitech Construction Company Limited under the supervision of the Federal Ministry of Works, is designed to link Lagos with Cross River through Ogun, Ondo, Edo, Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers and Akwa Ibom.
Umahi also warned residents and businesses against using the highway for activities that could undermine its safety and integrity.
He said Coastal Highway Guards had been deployed to protect the infrastructure, with 40 personnel initially assigned to Lot 1, divided between day and night operations.
The guards are expected to prevent motorcycles, tricycles, hawking, loitering and illegal occupation along the highway.
Umahi also urged the police and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps to support efforts to protect the corridor.
He warned against illegal parking of trucks and other vehicles on bridges and roads, saying such activities could damage infrastructure and create safety risks.
The minister also condemned the vandalism of road infrastructure, including the removal of blocks, fences and other components of the highway.
He thanked the Lagos State government for its support in areas including property enumeration, gazetting and the removal of illegal occupants along the project corridor.