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Commuters on the Lagos/Ibadan Expressway are undergoing nightmares travelling on the ever-busy road due to gridlock caused by bad portions around Kara market and the ongoing reconstruction within the axis.
On-the-spot assessment of the situation, yesterday, showed that the bad portions are causing traffic bottlenecks outward from Lagos and inward into Lagos traffis, especially around the Lagos/OPIC area.
Many commuters have had to sleep on the road, while others have had to spend hours before navigating through to continue their journeys.
Also, the law enforcement agencies comprising Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), Nigeria Police Force (NPF) and Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSDC), have been having a hectic time resolving and unbundling the heavy vehicular gridlock created by impatient drivers.
The FRSC and Police have mounted road blocks to forestall further breakdown of law by commuters forcing their way to drive against the traffic which might worsen the situation.
The traffic which peaked last on Wednesday had continued to leave many stranded at various bus stops with fewer vehicles available to ferry intending passengers from the adjourning communities of Mowe, Asese, Arepo and Warewa as well as those travelling from other parts of the country to Lagos where many are working or transacting other businesses.
Commuting from places like Mowe, Ibafo, Magboro and Arepo to Lagos which should averagely take between 20 minutes and 25 minutes have now extended to between six and 10 hours. Also, the available buses and private car owners are latching on the bad situation to increase fares, while those who are much in a hurry are riding on Okadas to Berger near Lagos.
The bad portion around Kara Market could have been avoided if the contractor, Julius Berger Plc., handling the Sagamu/Lagos portion of the road, had put in palliative measures by patching the bad spots before reducing the road to two lanes from its normal four lanes.
The Federal Government through the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing (FMWH) had said it was not unaware of the gridlock being experienced by road users, in a statement released on Saturday by Mrs F. F. Oloyede, acting federal controller of works, Lagos.
The statement noted: “The government feels the pains of the people, especially residents of Lagos and Ogun atates who are at the receiving end of the inconveniences due to the gridlock and sincerely apologise for the inconveniences caused while at the same time promising to make necessary improvements in the traffic management system on the road in other to alleviate the sufferings of the road users.”
