TRAVELLERS and motorists plying the Lagos-Ibadan expressway must brace for more hours of harrowing gridlock at the Ogun State stretch of the long bridge as lasting solutions to the nightmare may not come soon.
Contractor handling the rehabilitation, Julius Berger Nigeria Plc, hinted yesterday that the five-kilometre bridge, where major work is being carried out, might not be completed earlier than November ending.
Its Divisional Manager (West), Wolfgang Loesser, spoke yesterday while fielding questions from reporters during a news conference organised by Ogun State to inform Nigerians about steps being taken by Governor Ibikunle Amosun to ease the situation.
Loesser, who led the team of Julius Berger’s construction firm to the meeting with the government, in Oke-Mosan Governor’s Office, noted that the ongoing work on the bridge was complex and required diligence.
“First is the stage, where we are now, before we move to the other side coming from Lagos. So, that work will take at least until the end of November.
“But I also want to point out that there are many bottlenecks on the road. For example, the Ogun River Base. So, we are likely to experience the same problem there, where we will have several stages of traffic management.
“We can only do it if everybody is disciplined and care to drive safely within the construction area,” he said.
Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure Lekan Adegbite assured road users that the government would create earth road by the sides to serve as alternative roads and thus, ease traffic often experienced on the bridge.
Adegbite, who ascribed the cause of the gridlock in that area to drivers’ impatience and indiscipline, said the government might wield the big stick on erring motorists that drive against traffic.
According to him, miscreants appeared to have taken advantage of the traffic build up to attack motorists and travelers and dispossessing them of valuables.
The commissioner, however, assured that the government would deploy more law enforcement agents, and operatives of the Federal Road Safety Corp (FRSC) and the Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Corps (TRACE) to the area.
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