Before 2016, Yellow Duke Mount Zion road, Càlabar South local government area of Cross River State, used to be one of the best routes for motorists plying the streets of the Calabar metropolis. This route is the shortest route for anyone trying to locate the University of Calabar from Càlabar South LGA of the state.
In 2016, the pothole was spotted on the Yellow Duke Mount Zion road culvert which links the communities of Ekpo Abasi and those in Càlabar Municipal. The pothole deteriorated, widening to turn into a death trap that broke down the culvert. Yellow Duke culvert collapsed in 2016. The pothole has claimed the lives of two motorists after their vehicles plunged into it.
It used to be the shortest and smoothest ride via that route for many driving out of Càlabar South LGA to another axis of the metropolis. The route used to be accessible not only to private car owners but tricycle and commercial vehicle operators, who daily operate on that route for survival. Also, this death trap has crippled business activities due to slow vehicular movement.
A commercial driver Essien Edet plying that route, blamed the Ayade’s administration for the failed culvert and for awarding a contract for rehabilitation of the failed culvert to an ill-equipped road construction company to handle the project.
“How can a culvert fail three times in 7 years? It means the contractor could not handle the project,” Essien queried.
A market woman Glory Asuquo, who trades in fruits at Marian market claimed she is recording low sales due to the time wasted commuting the route.
A resident of the Yellow Street who trades in fairly used shoes, Agigo Johnson called for proactive measures by Otu’s administration, to intervene in the matter before it gets out of hand.
In reaction to the issue, Deputy Chief Press Secretary to Governor Otu, Mr. Darlynton Edem, said that the government would visit the spot before the year runs out.
“Let me state categorically that plans to tackle the failed culvert are underway. It’s the next spot to be tackled. You can see that the rehabilitation of roads is seriously ongoing now. You can see that the government is tackling that bad spot at Abasi Edem. Yellow Duke failed culvert is the next spot to tackle,” Otu’s CPS maintained.
Source: Leadership
