Lagos Motorists , Commuters Lament Hellish Traffic Congestion Over Kara Bridge Repairs

Motorists plying the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway were on Tuesday trapped and stranded for several hours, especially in peak hours as result of traffic induced by the repair works on the damaged expansion joints of the Kara Bridge.

LEADERSHIP checks showed that commuters and motorists who had thronged the roads to keep appointments or returning from work suddenly discovered that they could reach their destinations as scheduled.

The traffic the motorists said started building up in the afternoon, stretched from the Kara Bridge in Ogun State axis to the Toll Gate area in Lagos State.

The gridlock as of 6pm had extended beyond the Secretariat Bus Stop, while motorists coming from Ikeja and Ogba and attempting to access the Otedola underpass were also caught in the congestion, which stretched from Nurudeen Olowopopo Road to Otunba Jobi Fele Way.

Motorists and commuters who spoke with LEADERSHIP at different times lamented that the government has failed to realize the need to construct alternative roads into the state, noting that anytime there is a hitch on Kara Bridge the state is locked down.

“I work with the Lagos State government, I closed and left the secretariat at 5pm . Here I am by 8pm locked down. No movement at all .This is not too good as I have been on the road since and I am now locked in traffic at 7UP. I was told the traffic is because of ongoing construction at Kara Bridge. We ought to have been briefed on this development before we put our cars on the road time and money is lost. A litre of petrol is N1300 and here we are struggling with our vehicles in traffic, burning petrol. It’s unfortunate,” said the civil servant, Mr. Andrew.

Another, a commuter named Abel, lamented his frustration as he didn’t leave home with extra money and he is now stranded in Ojodu Berger as he wants to get to Mowe.

He said, ‘I am stranded and don’t have enough money, the bus I took from Ikeja is at a standstill in traffic gridlock. If I had enough money I would have trekked to the Expressway to take another vehicle but the commercial driver has refused to refund my transport fare. God I am stranded.”

As of the time of filing this report the officials the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority, Federal Road Safety Corps and Ogun State Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Corps were seen controlling the movement of vehicles heading towards Kara from Isheri and Ojodu with those coming from the expressway in an attempt to prevent a total lockdown.