Hundreds of motorists and commuters have continued to groan over the persistent gridlock caused by the ongoing construction along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.
They expressed displeasure that the Federal Government and the company overseeing the construction, Julius Berger, had been unable to provide alternative measures to lessen the suffering of those plying the road.
The Director, South-West, Federal Ministry of Works and Housing, Adedamola Kuti, had promised that the inward and outward sections of the expressway would be completed on or before December 2022.
Our correspondent gathered that the reconstruction of the expressway, which began in 2021, was extended to the Otedola Bridge, Berger and Isheri areas of the road, where the four lanes had been collapsed into two.
The development usually slows down vehicular movement, creating a backlog of traffic that stretches down from the construction sites to the Longbridge, Warewa, Arepo and Magboro areas, trapping motorists and commuters for hours.
While monitoring the situation along the expressway on Wednesday, PUNCH Metro observed that the gridlock, which started around the OPIC end, had extended to the middle of the Longbridge.
Some commuters, who could not withstand the traffic or were in haste, resorted to mounting motorcycles or driving against traffic.
A commercial bus driver, Korede Olaniyi, said the gridlock had affected the business of transportation, adding that commercial drivers and passengers usually spent hours on a journey that should last minutes.
He said, “The traffic here is unbearable for us. Many bus drivers don’t want to come to the Magboro axis again because of it. There are many times that people will get down from the bus when they see that the traffic is not moving.
“We are not making what we are supposed to make and the government is not doing anything to relieve the pains we are going through plying this road.”
A commuter, who did not mention her name for security reasons, said it was the responsibility of the Federal Government and the construction company to provide an alternative road to lessen the burden of people plying the expressway to navigate to their destinations.
Pointing to the earth roads at both sides of the Longbridge, she said, “That would have been the best alternative road. During the dry season, some motorists used to pass there, but since they opened the Oyan dam, the road is no longer motorable.
“The government cannot just be telling us that we should bear with them while the reconstruction lasted. They need to understand that some of us have businesses we need to attend to; it is not like we are just leaving our houses for no reason.
“I will leave the house around 7am because I don’t like taking motorcycles due to the risk. But I will still spend two hours before I can get to Berger; you can imagine the pains and stress,” she said.
The supervisor in charge of the Lagos-Sagamu section of the expressway, Wale Adebote, lamented that the persistent rain washed away palliative works done to reduce the burden on the road.
He said, “When it rains heavily, especially towards evening, before we resume the following day, vehicles are already on the road, and whatever palliative we are doing, it has worsened.
“What we do is that we keep maintaining it every day. There is no alternative route on that corridor; those earth roads you are seeing on both sides of the bridge have a gas pipeline and the NNPC line buried under it. Those places are not roads, and they are not meant to carry the load the expressway is carrying. In fact, it is a keg of gunpowder allowing articulate vehicles and trailers to pass on them because the pipe can rupture.
“That place is a flood-plain; you can even spend money and do it today, and when water from the Oyan dam is released, the whole thing is submerged. On the reconstruction of the expressway, we are working; we will continue to do the palliative so as to reduce the gridlock on the road.”
