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Road users plying the Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway have called on the Federal Government to intervene in the gridlock caused by the ongoing construction of Oshodi-Abule Egba Bus Rapid Transit (BRT lane).
Some commuters, who spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday, lamented the untold hardship and loss of man-hour faced on the road.
They appealed to the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, to prevail on Lagos State Government to fast-track the project to save commuters from the daily gridlocks.
Reports show that the reconstruction of Lagos-Abeokuta expressway was flagged off by Federal Government on May 14, 2018, to ease transportation between Lagos and Ogun States.
Reports also show that the Lagos State Government in 2017 embarked on construction BRT lane on the Oshodi-Toll Gate section of the Lagos-Abeokuta expressway.
The construction of the BRT lane narrowed the five-lane expressway to two lanes, causing heavy gridlock on both sides of the road.
Mrs. Adesin Johnson, a civil servant who lives in Iyana Ipaja, told NAN that she started her journey as early as 5.30 a.m. in order to beat the traffic.
“It has not been easy waking up 4.30 a.m. every day to beat the traffic along the road.
“I leave home before 5.30 a.m, considering the fact that my office is just at Ikeja, which is just about 30 minutes drive,” she said.
Mr. Nurudeen Olarenwaju, a commercial bus driver who plies Ayobo–Oshodi route, said he spent more money on fuel due to the hours spent in traffic.
“I spend so much money fueling my vehicle and most times I increase the fare in order to recover my loss,” he said.
Mrs. Abosede Makinde, a businesswoman in Oshodi Market said: “It has not been easy getting to the shop on time because most of my customers come in the early hours of the morning to buy goods.
“I am appealing to the government to intervene quickly because our businesses are suffering the loss”.
In addition, Mrs. Funke Agbaje, an entrepreneur, described the situation as an act of “wickedness” on the part of the Lagos State Government.
“This is just wickedness on the part of the Lagos State Government. How can a five-lane road be reduced to two lanes?
“People now spend up to three hours on the road for a trip of 45 minutes,” she said.
NAN reports that the BRT lane construction work has come to a halt, thereby worsening the situation for road users.
Credit: Independent