Wednesday, February 26, 2020 / 9:27 AM / Ottoabasi Abasiekong for WebTV / Header Image Credit: WebTV
A Petrol tanker explosion that occurred on the night
of Tuesday, February 25, 2020 along the Long bridge between Lagos and Ogun
State caused a massive traffic lockdown for commuters who ply the Lagos-Ibadan
expressway corridor.
Since the early hours of Wednesday, February 26,
2020, morning commuters had to face the logjam, which stretched from 7UP Motorways in the Ojota part of Lagos to the Kara and long
bridges in Ogun state, disrupting socio-economic activities along the axis.
The gridlock affected the resumption time of workers in both the public and
private sectors, while
those who had early morning air flights to catch from Lagos missed
their boarding times.
Residents of Housing estates like Otedola,
Magodo, Ikosi GRA and Omole Phase II in Lagos were not left out of the vehicular standstill as
they spent over 40 minutes to get out of their estates.
A few people
interviewed said that they might not be able to make it to their
places of work, meet up with business appointments or take
their children to school as a result of the traffic challenges.
The Lagos-Ibadan expressway is the busiest
highway in Nigeria, and witnesses heavy vehicular traffic, especially that of articulated vehicles(Heavy Trucks and
Tankers).
Currently, the Federal Ministry of Works and
Housing is supervising the Julius Berger construction of the expressway,
which is at a critical stage along the Kara, Ogun state axis.
Meanwhile, in Lagos the decision by the State government to ban commercial motorcycle
riders including transport hailing services
and tricycles across 40 highways, has led to people to walk from 7UP Motorways at Ojota to
their offices in areas like Ojodu Berger(Lagos-Ogun axis), Omole Phase II Estate,
Lagos, Omole Phase I, Magodo Phase I Estate, Magodo Phase II Estate etc. and
even down to OPIC Estate,(Ogun State).
Citizens have
expressed the hope that the Federal Ministry
of Works and Housing, the Lagos State Government and the Ogun State Government
will work out ways to address what has become a recurring logistics nightmare along Nigeria's principal economic corridor.
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