Motorists Decry Damage to Ayamelum Road By Cement-Laden Trucks

By Our Reporter

Motorists and commuters in the Ayamelum Local Government Area of Anambra state have raised the alarm over the level of damage done by trucks transporting cement through that only access road that connects the area to Onitsha and Adani, Enugu state respectively.
The road users appealed to the Anambra state government, led by Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, for urgent intervention to save the road from imminent collapse.

Those who spoke to Anambra Daily during the week lamented that more than 50 trucks loaded with bags of cement pass through the road that which passes through the Ayamelum area. Our (Anambra Daily) reporter gathered that the transporters, who started passing through the area since early September, have inflicted more damage on some sections of the road. They were said to be coming through Nsukka from, Kogi state on their way to Onitsha and other parts of the country.

“We are worried that, at the rate at which these trucks passing through Ayamelum, before the end of this rainy season, the road connecting Omasi-Ifite-Ogwari-Omor and Anaku communities would be completely damaged and unmotorable,” declared Mr. Christopher Onuorah, a rice farmer travelling to Ifite-Ogwari.
According to a commercial shuttle bus driver plying Ifite-Ogwari-Awka route, Chukwunwike Okoye, “Every day, as many as 80 trucks, fully loaded with cement bags speed past our area and when you go through the road now, you will discover that these trucks have damaged many places on the road.”

Okoye added that other smaller vehicles usually found it difficult to pass through some sections of the road already damaged, whenever it rained in the area.

“The truth is that whenever it rains, some places on the road are not passable. So, most drivers whose vehicles are not sound usually avoid going on trips when it rains these days,” he added.
Peter Okeji, a commercial motorcyclist who plies Ifite-Ogwari- Adani route, who confirmed the development showed the Anambra Daily correspondent a spot on the Ifite-Ogwari- Umueje/Omasi section of the road that had almost failed.

“The road is likely to be cut at this particular spot, if the state overnment fails to carry out urgent repair. Most drivers don’t usually agree to convey passengers to Adani because of the extensive damage these trucks have done on the road. Those of us using motorcycles are still able to ply the road because we can always find our way,” he said.
When contacted, the Ayamelum Local government Transition Committee Chairman, Mr. Livinus Onyenwe, admitted that the recent upsurge in the number of cement trucks passing through the local government was a big concern to the people of the area because of the toll they exert on the road. He equally disclosed that the local government authority was helpless in halting or regulating their movement.

According to him, the council was working closely with the state government to set up a revenue collection task force that would ensure that those trucks and others evacuating produce from the area pay their taxes. “Basically we are looking for ways to get revenue from them since we cannot stop them from passing through our road. Our tax force on produce would commence work soon,” he added.