The Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA) has flagged off Operation Safeguard the Road – II (OSGR-II), a preventive maintenance programme aimed at making federal roads safer, clearer and motorable in Rivers State.
The exercise covers vegetation control, desilting of carriageways and shoulders, and patching of isolated potholes along the Port Harcourt–Isiokpo–Elele–Omerelu–Imo State border road, Km 1+000 to Km 15+000.
Speaking at the orientation programme for workers engaged for the exercise in Port Harcourt on Tuesday, the FERMA Zonal Director, South-South 1, in charge of Rivers, Bayelsa and Akwa Ibom States, Engineer Udemba Celestine, said the programme was about safeguarding the roads for motorists to enjoy a smooth and safe ride.
He thanked the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of FERMA, Engineer Dr. Chukwuemeka Jideofor Agbasi, and the management of the agency for approving the programme.
Celestine explained that vegetation control involves cutting grasses, trees and bushes that have encroached on the road and shoulders.
He said hoodlums, kidnappers and armed robbers often hide inside the overgrown vegetation to lay ambush for innocent motorists and passersby.
“By cutting down this vegetation, a motorist on the road can see far ahead clearly to detect danger,” he said.
He said desilting of carriageways, shoulders, drains, access slabs and culverts was also important to enable free flow of water and prevent washout and erosion.
Celestine added that selected potholes along the corridor would be properly patched to ensure safe driving on the highway.
Most importantly, he said, the agency was using the programme to employ unemployed youths, especially from the host communities, to empower them to earn a living.
He stressed that safety comes first in all FERMA projects and operations, noting the provision of caution signs, warning signs, cones and flagmen to alert motorists that men are at work.
He urged the workers to always wear their safety kits so that road users would know from afar that work was ongoing.
Earlier, the FERMA Rivers State Federal Roads Maintenance Engineer (FRME), Offor George Ikechukwu, said the aim of the programme was to ensure that roads are very safe.
He said at least three metres on both sides of the road would be cleared to improve visibility and deny criminals hiding places.
Ikechukwu said desilting would clear drainages and roadsides that have narrowed the road, caused traffic and accidents, while patching of potholes would allow vehicles to move freely.
He disclosed that about 50 workers would be engaged for the exercise and paid by the agency as a form of empowerment, to enable them to take care of themselves and their families as the festive period approaches.
He urged the workers to be professional, humble and safety-conscious, warning them not to remove their safety jackets on site.
“You are now part of the FERMA family. You are going to represent us very well on the field. Your safety is very, very important to us,” he said.
