Motorists travelling along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway were left stranded for hours yesterday as a traffic gridlock caused by a crash involving two articulated vehicles stretched around the Sagamu Interchange and adjoining sections of the highway.

For some travellers, the ordeal was more than a frustrating delay. It became a race against time, with fears over the safety of goods and other perishable items trapped inside vehicles.

One of those caught in the gridlock was an X user, Ekun Bolaj, who said he had been stuck in the traffic since the previous day after transporting three cartons of day-old chicks from Ibadan.

Expressing concern over the fate of the chicks, Bolaj wrote: “I bought three cartons of day-old chicks from Ibadan yesterday; they are still inside this traffic. I hope those chicks are safe.”

His experience captured the frustration of hundreds of motorists who were forced to spend hours on the highway following the crash near Sinoma, a company located a few kilometres before the Sagamu Interchange on the outward Lagos section of the expressway.

The crash, which occurred at about 6:00 p.m. on Monday, involved two articulated vehicles. According to the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), the vehicles blocked the road and caused a major obstruction, triggering severe congestion.

The FRSC subsequently created a temporary diversion by moving traffic to the Lagos-bound section of the expressway to allow the crashed vehicles to be removed.

Although the vehicles have since been cleared and motorists rerouted to their appropriate lanes, congestion persisted yesterday.

The FRSC Corridor Commander, Lagos-Ibadan-Egbeda Corridor, S.D. Abdullahi, attributed the continued gridlock partly to panic among motorists and the actions of some impatient drivers who attempted to drive against the flow of traffic around the crash scene.

He said FRSC operatives, alongside personnel of the Nigeria Police and the Ogun State Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Corps, had been strategically deployed to manage the situation and prevent motorists from driving against the flow of traffic.

Abdullahi advised motorists yet to reach the affected area to consider alternative routes, while those already trapped in the congestion should remain patient, drive carefully, obey traffic regulations and follow the instructions of traffic management personnel.

The situation also prompted an advisory urging motorists travelling from the Ibadan axis to avoid the Sagamu Interchange and use the Ogere–Ishiun–Owode/Ofada–Mowe route.

Motorists coming from Abeokuta were similarly advised to use the Ishiun/Owode/Ofada Road to connect to Mowe.

The FRSC urged road users to exercise patience and cooperate with traffic officials until normal flow is fully restored.