Bedlam on Lagos-Ibadan Expressway

Motorists on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway have been expressing their frustrations following the traffic that has made travelling in and out of the Centre of Excellence hectic for almost 24 hours.

The traffic, which was triggered by a fuel-leaking tanker at the Kara area of Ibafo, Ogun State, began in the early hours of Tuesday. The impediment was cleared around 3pm yesterday.

It, however, brought out the ‘madness’ out of commuters, especially, commercial bus drivers, who, out of impatience, abandoned their lanes to drive against on-coming vehicles, and in the process, locked down the dual carriage highway.

Those trapped for hours in the traffic snarl made frantic efforts to get updates to plan their trips.

Many, who work in Lagos but living in communities on the highway corridor, spent hours returning home as trips that could have taken their minutes, took several hours.

Some were simply advised not to venture returning home, or urged to take alternative routes.

Those who called on Lagos Radio Traffic, expressed frustrations, blaming Messrs. Julius Berger, the contractor hired by the Federal Government to fix the Sagamu Interchange – Lagos end of the highway.

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They accused the firm of being insensitive to the plights of motorists by not deploying high-capacity towing vehicles to take broken down trucks off the road.

According to them, such pains have not been experienced on the Ibadan-Sagamu Interchange end of the highway, given to Reynolds Construction Company (RCC) to handle.

A caller narrated how he spent 10 hours from Ikeja, to Arepo, a Lagos suburb in Ogun State. The trip, according to him, takes about 20 minutes.

Those, who have scheduled morning flights and other appointments, were helpless as they were advised to take alternative routes.