Oyo State Government has deployed 100 traffic managers to the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway to direct traffic and make the road less congested for users.
Oyo State Road Traffic Management Authority (OYRTMA) Chairman, Akin Fagbemi, disclosed yesterday in Ibadan when he briefed newsmen on the efforts of the state administration to ease the burden of travellers using the major highway.
Lagos-Ibadan expressway, believed to be the only connecting road from the seaport and and international airport in Lagos to the rest of the country, had suffered neglect in the last 10 years.
Fagbemi said his officers would be on ground on the expressway, especially at the points where construction works would be taking place to avoid congestion and traffic snares.
He said commuters could get in touch with the men of the agency on +2348114390097 to report any complaint or seek help on the highway within the period.
“The road connects the two states and have great economic impact on the whole nation.
“If we allow the partial closure to be without giving technical support to the contractor in the area of maintaining smooth traffic at the points of diversion and turnings, the road may be blocked totally.
“Therefore, the essence of governments, at all levels, is to make living conducive for the people and the current administration will not shy away from doing its best to serve the people that voted for good governance.
“The affected road portion to be closed to traffic include Kara Bridge inward Berger and from Berger inward Kara Bridge which amounts to about 1.4 kilometres of the 127.6 kilometres.
“However, alternative routes have been mapped out with immense contributions from our sister agency, the Lagos State Road Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA),” he said.
He added that alternative routes announced for road users include Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway from Abeokuta connecting Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Sagamu-Ikorodu Road from Sagamu Interchange to Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.
Others include Ijebu-Ode-Itoikin Road from Ijebu-Ode to Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.
Julius Berger, the company handling the reconstruction of the road, last Thursday announced that parts of the road will be closed to traffic.
The company had previously announced plans to close the road in August but the closure was postponed due to the Muslim Eid-el-Kabir celebration and other religious activities scheduled around the period.