The coastal highway must remain a controlled-access expressway, with planned interchanges, service roads, protected setbacks and clearly defined industrial, residential, agricultural, tourism and conservation zones… It must also be coordinated with freight rail, seaports, inland logistics centres and mass transit. Otherwise, tankers, trailers and container trucks may soon overwhelm the road.
THE Lagos–Calabar Coastal Highway could become one of Nigeria’s most consequential infrastructure projects. It can open coastal communities, connect ports and industries, support tourism and agriculture, and stimulate new settlements.
But a highway is not, by itself, an industrial policy.
Without proper planning and development control, the road could eventually become another congested urban corridor lined with filling stations, markets, workshops, estates, religious centres, informal bus stops and uncontrolled junctions.
The warning signs are already visible on the Lagos–Abeokuta, Lagos–Ibadan and Apapa–Oshodi corridors.
The coastal highway must remain a controlled-access expressway, with planned interchanges, service roads, protected setbacks and clearly defined industrial, residential, agricultural, tourism and conservation zones.
It must also be coordinated with freight rail, seaports, inland logistics centres and mass transit. Otherwise, tankers, trailers and container trucks may soon overwhelm the road.
Environmental planning is equally critical. Wetlands, lagoons, creeks, floodplains and mangroves must be protected. Culverts, bridges, drainage channels and retention ponds must be designed as part of one regional system.
Lagos, Ogun, Ondo and the Federal Government therefore need a common coordinating framework and an integrated master plan for the entire corridor.
The coastal highway can provide the spine, but ports, railways, power, housing, skills, drainage and environmental protection must provide the supporting system.
A highway can carry traffic.
It cannot, by itself, carry an industrial revolution.
- Onabanjo, architect, environmentalist and urban policy advocate, can be reached at [email protected]
