By Dipo Olowookere
The collapsed portion of the Makurdi–Lafia–Abuja road destroyed by the recent heavy rain in Yelwata settlement in Guma Local Government Area of Benue State has been reinstated by the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA).
The Federal highway was almost cut into two due to heavy rain which caused a washout of an entire lane at Ch37 + 500 along Lafia – Makurdi Road.
FERMA was alerted about the road situation by the Nasarawa State Commissioner for Works, Engr. Wada Yahaya Mohammed. The information prompted the Agency to mobilize its engineers to site to immediately assess the extent of damage and thus swing into action.
Managing Director/CEO of FERMA, Engr. Peter Ode Ibu, directed his Nasarawa State Engineers and TRIACTA contractors to move to site on Monday 4th September, 2017 to reinstate the affected portion of the road. The road washout has been reinstated, the entire width of the carriageway has been recovered and vehicles are now moving freely on both sides of the carriageway.
The agency’s quick intervention saved the situation from further deterioration, avert accidents and total collapse of the road. It also ensured continued flow of traffic as the remaining small portion of the road could have caved in due to large number of vehicles plying the road.
Modupe Gbadeyanka 
Adedapo Adesanya