Ellen inspects Somalia Drive Road

President Ellen Johnson – Sirleaf has assessed progress on the 13.2 -kilometer Somalia Driver Road construction between Redlight and the Freeport of Monrovia, including the stretch of road from Barnesville Junction to Kebbah Community which runs into Caldwell.

Engineers working on the Freeport to Redlight route have assured President Sirleaf that work on the first phase of the road project will be completed by December this year, following which they will subsequently continue with the next phase.

President Sirleaf was taken out on the tour of the projects on Tuesday, 4 April, based on her desire to see the level of progress made so far on 13.2 kilometer Somalia Driver road between Redlight and Freeport. President Sirleaf thanked contractors for the level of works done so far.

Public Works Minister Gyude Moore said “we’ve done about six[kilometers] now, so we’re pretty confident that by the time the rains come we should be around ten [kilometers]”.

He said the Freeport to Redlight Road is 13.2 kilometers, and expressed confidence that it would be finished by December this year and dedicated before the administration expires.

Concerning the road from Barnesville Junction to Kebbah Community, Minister Moore said parts of the road that had no issues have been paved, and are as that had design issues were left because it took the Ministry a while to pay consultants to come on board.

The first layer of the asphalt is being laid on the stretch from Barnesville Junction to Bend and Stop. The Public Works Minister said with proper maintenance, the roads will be able to last for over 20 years.

The Project Engineer at the Ministry of Public Works Ms. Deena Cooper says based on the contract signed, the first phase of the project is supposed to finish by June 2018. But she hopes that they will complete 90 percent of the project before January 2018.

She also hoped that by the end of October this year, the construction of the new bridge at Stockton Creek on the Somalia Drive Road would be finished. Already, construction works on the first part of the new bridge that links the first phase of the Somalia Drive Road has gone far. Ms. Copper says she hopes that 11 kilometers of asphalt on the Somalia Drive Road would be finished, bringing the [asphalt pavement] around the Battery Factory area on the Somalia Drive Road.

Concerning the drainage near the Freeport of Monrovia, she said its construction would require the collaboration between the contractor and the Ministry of Public Works. A contractor with construction firm DCN that is executing the Redlight to Freeport Road project, Mr. Ambray Seyon Moses said 95 percent of the first phase of the Somalia Drive Road would be finished by December this year. Mr. Moses appreciated all of the support from President Sirleaf’s office and from the Ministry of Public Works, saying Minister Moore“is doing extremely well”.

By Winston W. Parley