Lagos-Ibadan highway gridlock: Motorists, commuters lament as Julius Berger returns
Gridlock on Wednesday returned to the Longbridge axis of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, as Julius Berger resumed construction works on the road.
The ongoing repair of the road was suspended in December last year to enable travellers plying the route to enjoy hassle-free movement to their various destinations for the festive period.
The barricades on the road were also removed.
PUNCH Metro, however, observed that the construction firm started moving its utility trucks back to the OPIC end of the road on Wednesday, as it also placed some barriers to divide the road from OPIC towards Kara Bridge.
The diversion made traffic to start building up along the axis on Wednesday night.
The gridlock increased on Thursday morning, extending to the Longbridge.
A joint team of security operatives, including the police, military and the Federal Road Safety Corps, were sighted at the Arepo end of the road, as they prevented motorists from driving against traffic.
Our correspondents also observed a gradual hike in transport fares, as Berger to Magboro increased from N300 to N500, while those heading towards Mowe/Ibafo paid N800.
A motorist, Funke Adebambo, expressed worry over the return of the gridlock, saying it always affected her business.
She said, “The traffic affects me economically. I take this route almost every day to purchase goods in Lagos and back to Ogun State. This affected me the period the repair was going on last year. I only felt relief in December when they suspended the work. Now that they have resumed work, it will start affecting my movement again.”
A commuter, Tayo Oyewusi, complained about the huge transport fares.
A bus driver, Kunle Akanle, said the increase in transport costs was a result of the gridlock.
He said, “We have no choice but to increase the transport fares. The number of trips I covered before the traffic started has reduced. I now spend a long time in traffic. Even if we try to take alternative routes, my vehicle gets faulty because of the bad road.”
Our correspondents also noted intense physical and verbal altercations between some drivers and members of a transport union task force at the Berger Bus Stop, who were on the ground to ensure drivers did not take advantage of the situation. Punch
