THE gridlock on Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway seems to have defied solution, putting a heavy toll on road users. On a daily basis, precious man-hour is wasted on the road. The journey from Oshodi to Sango, which should not last more than 30 minutes, now takes up to four or five hours. Whether in the morning or at night, road users are always going through painful and frustrating experience, forcing many to seek alternative routes.

The most terrible portions of the road are Dopemu under bridge diversion, Ile-Epo/Oja, Abule-Egba, Kola and Tollgate junction. Traffic situation in these areas are always at a standstill, leaving police and traffic control officials helpless.

From Oshodi to Ikeja, the traffic is always in three batches — Oshodi under-bridge to Ladipo, Sogunle to PWD and Airport bus stop to Ikeja — such that the journey of less than 10 minutes lasts for an hour.

After leaving Ikeja, from Mongoro bus stop, which is about 400 meters away, begins another traffic jam that flows to Dopemu junction. From 5pm daily, the traffic would build up from Mongoro end and motorists would begin to crawl for hours.
Despite the measures adopted at Dopemu under bridge diversion, the situation is still the same. In fact, from Iyana-Ipaja bus stop to under bridge, it takes another 30 minutes to escape the gridlock always caused by reckless drivers; the police and motor park touts, as well as street traders. Abule-Egba junction is a perennial bottleneck.

The situation at Ile-Epo/Oja is equally appalling, as the axis has turned to a mini river. Motorists can spend hours here, while navigating the pool. The bad portions are getting wider with speed, especially, with the rains, causing more discomfort to road users.

With a little rainfall, the road is sure to be flooded, becoming a no-go area for motorists and even pedestrians. Unfortunately, the alternative escape route, Abule-Egba/Ekoro link road is always congested, as it is the same route for vehicles coming from Command, Captain, Meiran and other areas of Alimosho. During the last Eid Kabir festival, commuters heading towards Abeokuta were stranded for hours, forcing a lot of them to go back home.

Since coming on board of the Akinwunmi Ambode administration, the traffic situation on the route, adjudged the worst in the state, has worsened. According to The Guardian investigation, several factors are responsible for this. They include, the growing population, poor state of the expressway, lack of foresight for expansion, activities of roadside traders and absence of feeder roads.

The most severe of all the factors is the derelict state of the road. At the moment, the highway is in a serious mess due to potholes and craters that have gradually become gullies in major parts.

A commuter, Israel Adedeji, who spoke to The Guardian, said, “the major cause of this problem is the abandoning of the road project awarded to Julius Berger Plc., which crawled for 13 years, due to incessant breach of agreement between the firm and the Federal Government.”

Since the Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA) took over the road with their palliative measures, not much has been achieved beyond yearly interventions at onset of every rainy season. Patchworks cannot work for a road of such magnitude.

The contractor, in 2013, finally abandoned the third addendum of the project awarded by former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration in 2001, with the aim of expanding the artery.

Though, the state government had on its own established traffic control agency, the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), and empowered to apprehend and impound vehicles of traffic offenders, coupled with the police and the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), their efforts have not brought the expected respite.