There appears to be succor in sight for residents of Ogun State living along the Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway and motorists plying this ever-busy road, as the state government has commenced work on the road.
Over two weeks ago, March 31, to be precise, at the State Executive Council meeting, presided by Governor Dapo Abiodun, the state approved the road, alongside six other roads, described as major priority projects for execution.
Recall that the entire stretch of the road, which runs from the Brewery Busstop, Abeokuta through Sango to Ile-Epo Market, Lagos, is currently in a state of comatose, as the road, which has been abandoned for years, has become a death trap and albatross to road users.
The road, awarded to Julius Berger Plc by the former President Olusegun Obasanjo in 1999, has suffered intermittent setbacks over the years owing to paucity of funds, forcing the contractor to abandon the road. Even, the government organ responsible for its maintenance, the Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA), has also completely neglected it.
Last October, news broke out that the Federal Government had approved the request of the state government to take over the road, but it seemed the agreement was not concretised, which led to unwarranted delay.
But with this announcement, there is high hope across the state, especially from motorists and other road users that their nightmare would soon come to an end.
The Special Adviser to Governor Abiodun on Media, Mr. Kayode Akinmade, who announced the resolution of the meeting, said approval has been given for palliative work to be carried out at the Iyana-Ilogbo Busstop, along the stretch, following recent rainfall that led to flooding in the area.
True to his words, when The Guardian went on tour of the route from Lagos to the Brewery Busstop last week, the Iyana-Ilogbo Busstop stretch, which has been impassable for over four months has been fixed and smooth for free traffic flow.
This has totally removed the incessant traffic jam caused by motorists driving against traffic while a voiding the bad section. It has also erased incidents of ‘hit and run,’ that been rampant in the last few months.
A commuter bus driver, Mr. Jelili Ayinla, who plies the Ifo-Wasimi route, said the fixing of the Iyana-Ilogbo section – about seven meters wide and six feet deep, has removed one of the major encumbrances motorists are facing daily on the road.
He regretted that the state of the road has not only led to losses on the side of motorists, owing to incessant repairs of their vehicles, he said many lives have been lost as a result of accidents, which are avoidable if the road had been given attention.
On February 20, no fewer than nine innocent lives were lost and seven others injured in an early morning accident, which involved a truck and a Mazda bus at Kere Bridge. The accident was linked to route violations, which led to a head-on collision between the two vehicles.
Ayinla, who said many accidents, which had claimed lives have been recorded in the recent past, owing to the state of the road, appealed to the state government to make true its promise to re-construct the road, adding that the stretch from Ilepa through to Abeokuta has turned to a death trap and practically impassable.
During a tour, The Guardian observed that driving from Onihale through Ilepa, Bosun Sawyer, Pakoto, Vulcaniser, Bungalow, Ewekoro to Abeokuta, the road is in a sorry state.
The stretch between Ilepa to Ifo, which shouldn’t take more than 20 minutes, now takes over one hour, 30 minutes. While the portion between the Apostolic Church convention ground; Ilepa junction to Ilepa Second Busstop has deteriorated alarmingly in the last one year, the 45-metre stretch at the Bosun Busstop, inward Ifo, has worsened in the last seven months. The crater at the centre of the road is about 23 feet deep, covering the entire lanes.
The Pakoto axis has become a dilemma. It traffic was grounded to a halt last saturday. The stretch immediately after Ayede bus stop, to Folam bus stop, spanning about 1km, has been dotted with craters and potholes. The entire stretch is in a serious state of disrepair, precipitating gridlocks. The area is ridden with potholes and ditches that have taken over significant chunk of the road.
At the moment, only trucks, tippers, few cars and other bigger vehicles dare brave the road. Daily, precious man-hours are wasted on the axis.
Beyond the stretch, from Arigbajo rail line through Apomu, Papalanto, Ewekoro, Itori, Wasinmi, Abule Mecho, Olomoore to Brewery junction, ditches of various sizes and depth are the common sight.
As a result, hapless motorists heading to either Ifo or Abeokuta often crawl for more than four hours or more, depending on the time of the day, for a journey that shouldn’t take more than one hour, 20 minutes.
To make the matter worse, almost on daily basis, trucks and heavy-duty vehicles crash at the bad spots. Many innocent lives have been taken in the last few months, while some who survive the accidents are living with scars.
Sadly too, between the Sango garage and Folam bus stop, countless number of pedestrians have been knocked down and killed by erring motorists who have resorted to driving against traffic to avoid the bad portions.
To say a lot of motorists have deserted the axis for the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, is to say the least, as the road has not only become a death trap, but an embarrassment to the Federal Government that has left it to degenerate to that level.
A civil servant, who resides at Ilepa works, but works in Lagos, Mr. James Ogunmokun, who also described the announcement as good news, appealed to the state government to hasten the process of reconstructing the road.
“I want to appeal to Governor Abiodun to first of all apply palliatives on the bad section, at least to ameliorate the plight of the road users for now before embarking on the total overhaul of the road. The suffering on this road is much and we cannot wait to experience relief, enough of the pain.
“We appreciate the state government for this plan and we are hoping to see the announcement come to fruition, we cannot wait.”
