Lagos road capacity exhausted, needs innovative solutions to expand

The capacity of Lagos roads has been exhausted and needs innovative solutions to expand, an official said on Wednesday.

Mr Adeyemi Adeniyi, Technical Adviser, Public Transport (Road and Infrastructure), Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA), made this known in Lagos at a public lecture.

Adeniji spoke at the lecture organised by the Association of Professional Women Engineers of Nigeria (APWEN) in collaboration with LAMATA.

The lecture was entitled,”Sustaining Lagos State Road Transport Infrastructure: Role of Professional Engineers”.

According to Adeniji, Lagos State is experiencing rapid urbanisation and has become a city with more population than it can carter for.

He said that the state had up to 32 million residents.

Adeniji, however, said that the state government was looking into challenges in the state road infrastructure such as overcrowding, insufficient network, inadequate public transport and flooding, to ensure seamless movement.

“The Lagos State Government embarked on innovative solutions such as smart traffic and an intelligent transport system that displays arrival of buses and enables residents to plan their journey.

“Green infrastructure – bus terminals, traffic signals – are powered by solar, and this reduces green house emissions.

“The Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) has been expanded to ensure that more people are moved from one point to another.

“Inter-modal connection allows people to integrate from one form of transport to the other, and two interchanges are under construction to enable connection between bus and ferry,” he said.

He said that professional engineers were critical in addressing road challenges, urging that they must balance immediate needs with long-term sustainability.

He urged them to drive innovation in transport infrastructure to improve quality of life for the state residents.

Adeniji said that, in addressing road challenges, engineers should conduct site analysis and traffic studies, design roads for population and traffic, integrate flood resistant features, and plan for multi-modal integration.

He said that getting accurate data would enable the engineers to plan well.

“Engineers should ensure project execution and contract compliance, conduct material testing for quality assurance, implement innovative construction techniques and ensure adherence to safety standards.

“As regards maintenance and rehabilitation, engineers should ensure preventive strategies, regular inspection, and optimise cost,” he said.

Adeniji urged engineers to help in educating members of the public in the use of traffic signs to reduce road accidents.