These are indeed extremely difficult times for commuters and motorists plying, Orile/ Costain toward Eko Bridge.

The ongoing rehabilitation of Eko Bridge is causing unimaginable hardship for motorists along this route who spend several hours in traffic daily.

Commuters on Volks/ Igbolerin afromedia along Badagry expressway are not exempted from this anguish because of the ongoing road construction and the terrible state of some portions of the roads on this route.

According to a commercial bus driver, Debola Akin, “everyday motorist gets caught up in heavy traffic at Orile, Costain, all the way to Eko Bridge. This unending bridge construction is making our lives a living hell. We spend several hours in traffic from Costain to CMS.”

“We are suffering along this route, I sincerely wish something could be done urgently to alleviate the sufferings of motorists plying this axis,” Akin added.

Lamenting Ozioma Pauline, a trader who sells cosmetics on Lagos Island said we have to trek most times because of the heavy traffic. The ban on commercial bikes has in no small measure compounded the plight of road users.

Because of the heavy traffic, commercial bus drivers inflate their fares. Unfortunately, the inflated transportation cost are heaped on the weak shoulders of poor Lagosians.”

Recounting his experience Idoko Daniel said most times I have trekked from Cassidy to Afromedia bus stop daily because of the going road construction that is causing heavy traffic at Igbolerin.

Sometimes the traffic spills over to okoko, Cassidy bus stop. Unfortunately, once there is heavy traffic, robbers begin to operate.

Honestly, car owners and none car owners around this route are suffering. If it is not bad roads, it will be flood or even uncontrollable traffic.

Recall that the Lagos State Government announced the closure of Eko Bridge and the diversion of traffic to other routes following the inferno that engulfed the Apongbon axis of the bridge a few months ago.

According to the state government, the closure is to ensure the safety of motorists who may want to make use of the bridge which was badly affected due to the intensity of the fire that destroyed some shops and vehicles around that axis.

This disclosure is contained in a statement issued by the Lagos State Commissioner for Transportation, Dr. Frederic Oladeinde, where he also listed the alternative routes that motorists should ply.

Oladeinde said that an integrity assessment would be carried out on the bridge to ascertain the level of damage caused by the fire incidence to it and for its adequate rehabilitation.

Alternative routes

The commissioner advised motorists heading toward Apongbon from Surulere and its environs to use the Ijora/Apapa route or the Leventis/UBA Roundabout to connect the Marina and head on to their desired destinations.

Alternatively, he also advised that motorists could pass through Ebute Ero to link Inner Marina and the Third Mainland Bridge to continue their journeys.

Oladeinde said that the State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) officials were already on ground along the alternative routes to minimise inconveniences.

The Commissioner empathised with the owners of shops razed down during the inferno, assuring them and the residents of Lagos State that the government was fully committed to ensuring the safety of the commuting public within the metropolis.

Commuters groan as traffic takes over major roads in Lagos

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