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Sunday, March 28, 2021

Motorists stranded on Lagos-Ibadan expressway

Motorists’ impatience, lane indiscipline and not giving consideration to other road users were identified as major causes of the gridlock.

• March 27, 2021

The gridlock on the Lagos-Ibadan expressway, on Saturday, left many motorists and commuters stranded, as passengers were seen trekking long distance to get to their destinations.

The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) and other agencies had been battling with the gridlock since Friday.

Most motorists slept on the highway as a result of the traffic snarl, while FRSC and other agencies were busy balling with the situation to ease traffic flow.

The gridlock had also extended to some parts of Ibadan metropolis, such as Soka, New Garage, Challenge and Ojoo, with motorists and passengers having difficulties getting to their respective destinations.

A truck driver, Isaac Emmanuel, told NAN that he had been on the road since Friday afternoon, coming from Sagamu axis.

“I left Sagamu yesterday afternoon and I’m just reaching Ibadan now (Saturday morning). I observed that two trucks, including a container, fell around Guru Maraji area.

“The incident has made vehicular traffic to be on standstill since yesterday,” he said, describing the situation as hellish.

Also, a passenger, Waliu Olalade, said that he had to trek from the old toll gate on the Ibadan end of the Lagos-Ibadan expressway to Soka area due to the heavy traffic.

“Apart from the trailers that fell on the way, some people have also attributed the traffic situation to impatience on the part of some motorists,” he said.

Speaking on the development, the FRSC Sector Commander in the state, Uche Chukwurah, however, said there was no accident or broken-down vehicles that could have caused the gridlock on the expressway.

Mrs Chukwurah identified motorists’ impatience, lane indiscipline and not giving consideration to other road users as major causes of the gridlock.

She noted that the gridlock started around Oriental axis on the expressway, where a construction company had closed a lane and diverted traffic to the other lane.

Mrs Chukwurah insisted that the ongoing reconstruction of the expressway, which had been on for a long time, was not the cause of the gridlock, but lack of patience on the part of the motorists.

She called on motorists to always exercise patience and give consideration to other road users while on the road and as well obey traffic rules and regulations to avoid experiencing such situations.

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