Some road users have appealed to the Federal Government to adopt more measures to reduce gridlock as contractors returned to the site after the festive season to resume construction works on Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.
Work on the OPIC axis, which resulted in traffic snarl-ups and hardship to road users in the area, was suspended in December for the festive season to ease the movement of travellers, bringing relief to motorists.
According to an exclusive reports made by News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) Correspondent who took a trip on Section One of the highway on Thursday reports that workmen who returned to the site on Tuesday were seen between Kara and OPIC on the Lagos-bound side.
They were using earth-moving equipment to scarify some portions while at the same time laying fresh construction materials on other sections.
Officials of the Federal Roads Safety Corps and TRACE were seen controlling traffic at the U turn around OPIC/Fatgbems filling station.
Some of the road users commended the swift return to site but emphasised the need to minimise hardship caused by impact of gridlock around construction zones.
Mr Osas Idohasa, a commercial bus driver who plies the Ikeja-Ojodu and Wawa-Arepo routes, commended the quick resumption of works but appealed for urgent measures against gridlock as well as speedy completion of the project.
Idohasa said he would henceforth study traffic situation before conveying passengers on the Wawa-Arepo axis of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway to minimise loss of revenue and man-hours.
“How much do I make daily that I will allow myself sit inside traffic?” he queried.
Mr Tirimisiu Adigun, a commercial motorcycle operator who plies Beger-Arepo, appealed for construction of alternative routes to ease congestion, to make the highway safer.
Mr Suleiman Alabi, a tipper driver at Fatgbems Bus Stop, appealed to Julius Berger to give back to society by always using recyclable construction materials to fill bad portions along the highway to improve driving experience.
“Government should tell Julius Berger to go and grade that other lane at Wawa to Fatgbems. They should use all these waste materials to go and fill all bad portions there. They should do it as their corporate social responsibility.
“I personally dropped 12 trips of rubbles there as part of my own contribution to prevent accidents and save businesses. No one paid me,” he said.
