Travelling on Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway can best be described as nightmarish, given the number of potholes motorists have to contend with.
Although it is a federal road, it covers some parts of Lagos State. Right from Oshodi, Iyana Ipaja, down to Meiran, Ijaiye, Alakuko, among others, Lagosisans are currently suffering from the deplorable state the road has fallen into.
Worsened by floods from recent rains, countless potholes, which cause gridlocks, have surfaced in several sections. This causes untold hardship to motorists and commuters, who spend endless hours in traffic snarls, which have become a regular feature on that road. A motorist says between Iyana Ipaja and Sango alone, a distance of about seven kilometres, he has counted up to 52 potholes.
The motorist, Mr. Johnson Ehime, who lives in Ijako, in Ado Odo/Ota Local Government, Ogun State but works in Lagos, says he has to contend with the potholes Mondays through Fridays to and from his work place.
He adds, “Driving at night on that road is traumatic. There are three or four of such potholes cluttering around the same spot, covering a sizeable portion of the road. So, there is no way one can dodge all of them.”
Another resident of Alakuko, Mrs. Kemi Olawole, had a terrible experience on that road on Friday, when her car ran into a pothole just before Alakuko Bus Stop. One of her car’s front tyres burst.
She moans, “It is by divine intervention that a vehicle did not run into my car from behind on Friday. I think it is quite irresponsible for a government to leave the road in that shape.”
Another bad section lies around the exit point at Toll Gate area, which serves as the boundary between Lagos and Ogun States. It is big enough to serve as a fish pond when it rains and collects water.
A commuter, Mr. Okey Mbanisi, lives at Sango Ota, but has a shop at Oshodi, Lagos. He states that each time he is returning home, his experience at Kollington (Kola) Bus Stop is not palatable.
He says, “Though there is a point at Salolo Bus Stop, where vehicles from either side usually make a U-turn, the potholes are the major cause of the gridlock, which leads to loss of time and stress. As a citizen of Nigeria, I don’t know what I enjoy. No good roads, no health care facilities, no jobs.”
Palliative repairs were carried out on some portions of the road by the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency not too long ago, but with the coming of the rains, those portions are now worse than they were.
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