Traffic gridlock has found its way to the popular Lagos-Ibadan expressway, ahead the resumption of ongoing rehabilitation work on the road by the Federal Ministry of Works on Monday.
The ministry had announced the suspension of work last week to enable a seamless flow of traffic on the road during the Sallah holiday but, the contractor is expected to resume to site today for the continuation of their works.
This time around, the traffic, which resurfaced on Sunday, was a result of the high influx of Lagos-bound vehicles that were returning after the long Sallah holiday.
It was observed that the situation crippled traffic along the axis for several hours as motorists and road users were stranded in the gridlock.
The holdup was worsened by the downpour at the Berger end of the ever-busy road.
It was gathered that as of noon on Sunday, it took motorists more than three hours to travel from Ibafo in Ogun State to the Otedola Bridge in Lagos due to slow traffic which takes between 15 and 20 minutes to cover the stretch.
Frustrated travelers were seen lamenting the pains they will be subjected to face from today (Monday) as a result of the failure of the contractor handling the project for effective traffic management as well as the lack of passable alternative roads.
A motorist, Samuel Ogundijo who spoke with our correspondent said: “It is frustrating that we are back to our usual encounter on this road. This is a Sunday which by default you can predict that vehicular movement won’t be heavy and even if it does it shouldn’t lead to a frustrating experience but here we are. I’ve spent more than two hours here. What could be more frustrating than this on a Sunday?,” he asked.
Another motorist, Seyi Samuel, appealed to the federal government and contractor to speed up the pace of work on the road adding that enough of the terrible nightmare motorists experience on the road.
“As much as this development, when completed, will be for the greater good of the motorists and other road users, it is coming at an unbearable cost for us due to the usual gridlock. We, humbly, call on the federal government and contractor to speed up their activities and be more practical in managing traffic while the rehabilitation work lasts,” Seyi Samuel said.
