GOVERNOR Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State said the state has constructed a total of 251 new roads in the state in the last three and half years.
 Fashola who spoke at the official commissioning of new plants and equipment of the Lagos State Public Works Corporation in Lagos added that the new roads comprise of 371 kilometres. He explained that currently another 44 roads are under construction and would be concluded within the next six months.
 Fashola also said in addition to this, another 60 new roads that would add 129 kilometres are under construction and would be completed beyond the six months timeline.
According to the governor, any observer of events in Lagos can testify that in the last three and half years, the state has become a huge construction city with the government being non-discriminatory in terms of infrastructure development as it has been by building schools, hospitals, drainages and more importantly roads.
He reiterated that easy movement of persons and goods within and around the state remains central to the deliverables required for the megacity ideal to take its proper shape, adding that the vision is to make Lagos the model mega City in Africa.  Fashola said the strategy is to complement the massive on-going road construction work in various parts of the state with commensurate routine repair and maintenance exercise.
While explaining that the administration is committed to ensuring that road maintenance is sustainable, the governor urged the people to reconsider their general attitude to road maintenance.
This, he said, can be achieved if the people shun the habit of turning the roads to refuse dumps as well as engaging in indiscriminate road cutting, stressing that most new roads have ducts provided with them thus making road cutting absolutely unnecessary.
 Fashola said while government is not opposed to people engaging in laying of cables across roads, it is always advisable to seek clarifications to be better informed, adding that government always advises that it is the contractors who constructed the roads that should cut and fix back the roads if it becomes absolutely necessary.
The governor urged the federal government to accelerate and show serious commitment to building a rail network that will help the concerned interests to discharge goods from the ports.
He explained that the advanced countries which Nigeria seeks to emulate do not discharge their crude and containers by roads but by rail, adding that this is made more imperative with Lagos State which has the busiest port in the country.
He added that part of the results empirically proven as being responsible for the state of some of the roads is that when containers are conveyed from the ports, they are not taken to the warehouses located at the industrial estates where the roads have been prepared to withstand heavy equipments, but many would prefer to drive the containers to the streets of their residence thereby shortening the lifespan of such roads.
The governor emphasized that the items being commissioned only represents a tip of the iceberg in terms of the investment the state is prepared to make towards ensuring that Lagos roads remain in good condition all year round.