FROM ACCESS STRUGGLES TO OPEN PATHWAY

FROM ACCESS STRUGGLES TO OPEN PATHWAY

By AmanamHillary Umo-Udofia

Mrs. Rose Orji still remembers when hope almost slipped away.

The Administrator of Regards British International School had moved into the Tropicanna axis from Shelter Afrique in 2016 with optimism and a clear vision. The school was expected to thrive within what planners had envisioned as a vibrant commercial district along the Udo Udoma corridor in Uyo.

But reality soon intervened.

What looked promising on paper quickly became a daily struggle on the ground. The access routes into the area were rough, poorly aligned and frequently flooded, especially during the rainy season. Parents found it difficult navigating the muddy stretches, and school buses often got stuck or avoided the area altogether. What should have been a convenient school run soon turned into an exhausting ordeal for many families.

For Mrs. Rose Orji, it was heartbreaking to watch the consequences unfold. Some parents, frustrated by the difficult access, quietly began to withdraw their children. Others openly expressed concern about safety and convenience. With each withdrawal, the optimism that had accompanied the school’s relocation gradually faded.

What had begun as a bold relocation to a promising business district started to feel like a gamble that might not pay off. At moments, Mrs. Orji feared that the dream of building a thriving educational institution within Tropicanna might collapse under the weight of an infrastructure problem that seemed beyond the school’s control. The vision that had brought them to the area was slowly being overshadowed by the stark reality of isolation and inaccessibility.

According to her, “We came in here with a lot of purpose in 2016 from Shelter Afrique,” she recalled quietly. “Soon after we got here, parents couldn’t have an access road, so they began to withdraw their children which dashed our hopes and almost buried our dreams.”

For years, the Tropicanna area battled a stubborn infrastructure problem. The terrain was muddy and poorly aligned. Floodwater collected easily during the rainy season, leaving sections completely impassable. Only about the first 500 metres of the road could be accessed by vehicles, while the rest remained a frustrating stretch for motorists, pedestrians, school buses and delivery vans.

Then came an unexpected moment.

“But one day without the least shred of hope,” Mrs. Orji continued, “I saw a team inspecting the road that Governor Umo Eno had awarded for construction.”

For her, it felt like the first sign that Tropicanna might yet find its footing.

That inspection eventually blossomed into what is now the Ibom Tropicana Internal Roads Project – an ambitious 3.5Km road network designed to transform accessibility within the Udo Udoma business district.

Work began in January 2026, with more than 300 direct and indirect workers engaged on the project site. The roads are designed with an 8-metre wide carriageway supported by a comprehensive double drainage system both underground and surface channels to permanently tackle the flooding that once plagued the area.

Stretching from Afaha Ikot Obio Nkan through Nkereuwem Udo and Akpan Aduk, and linking directly to Ring Road 3, the network is expected to provide a fully motorable corridor connecting schools, offices and commercial establishments across Tropicanna.

At its deepest section, the underground drainage plunges nearly five metres below ground level, channeling water through an 800mm by 800mm two-sided drainage system designed to prevent the perennial flooding that once discouraged development.

The Assistant Chief Surveyor of Hensek Integrated Services, Surv. Enobong Umoh, described the intervention as more than just road construction but a flood control project, a traffic decongestion strategy and an urban regeneration effort rolled into one.

Before the intervention, floodwater routinely overwhelmed the area, leaving muddy pools and eroded pathways in its wake. Businesses struggled to attract customers, while institutions such as Regards British International School and nearby Plantinum Regal Academy faced serious accessibility challenges.

Parents worried about navigating the difficult roads during school runs, and transport operators often avoided the area entirely.

Today, the picture is gradually changing.

The emerging road network is opening alternative routes into the Tropicanna corridor, reducing traffic pressure on Ring Road 3 while improving connectivity between Afaha Ikot Obio Nkan, Nkereuwem Udo, Akpan Aduk and the broader Uyo road grid.

For schools within the district, the benefits are immediate and direct. Where school buses once struggled through muddy paths, structured road alignments now promise easier and safer access for pupils, staff and visitors.

Mrs. Orji believes the difference will be transformative. “Once this project is completed, parents will now see that access is no longer a challenge,” she said. “What once discouraged them will become the very reason confidence will return.”

Beyond education, the project is also stimulating economic activity across the area.

More than 300 workers have found employment through the construction process, providing income for hundreds of households while creating demand for local suppliers of building materials, food services and logistics support.

The project has also introduced many young workers to practical skills in surveying, drainage engineering and civil construction which can sustain future infrastructure development across the state.

Local business owners are already anticipating the ripple effects. Improved access means faster movement of goods and services, greater investor confidence and increased property values within the Udo Udoma business district.

Observers say the intervention reflects the infrastructure philosophy of Governor Umo Eno, whose ARISE Agenda places strong emphasis on practical, people-centred projects that directly unlock economic potential while improving everyday life.

Rather than pursuing infrastructure for its symbolic value alone, the Governor has consistently prioritised projects that solve real problems, opening up access roads to business districts, connecting communities, easing the movement of goods and services, and creating environments where enterprises can thrive.

Within this framework, the Tropicanna internal roads project illustrates a deliberate strategy to strengthen the economic architecture of Uyo by linking commercial nodes, improving mobility, and making previously difficult areas attractive to investors, schools and service providers.

By combining road construction with flood control, drainage engineering and urban connectivity, the project aligns squarely with the ARISE Agenda’s broader objective of translating infrastructure investments into tangible social and economic benefits for the people of Akwa Ibom State.

For Mrs. Rose Orji, whose school nearly lost its dream to an impassable road, the transformation carries deep personal meaning.

Standing beside the emerging roadway, she reflected on the journey. What once threatened to bury a vision is now laying the path for its future.

And in Tropicanna, that path now stretches 3.5 kilometres long paved with renewed confidence, opportunity and hope.