I AM NOT am alarmist, but talking from experience I can imagine what motorists will go through when work begins on the Berger – Kara axis of the Lagos – Ibadan Expressway on Saturday. That portion of the road will be partially closed to facilitate the work. By partial closure, Julius Berger, the contractor, means that the road will be narrowed from four lanes to two or even one, if need be. With the heavy traffic on that road, this will inevitably lead to congestion.
Since Berger began working on the road, motorists have not been finding things easy.
I remember when the firm was working on the Long Bridge, it was hell using the road for those of us living along that route. Going and coming was hell. You left home in the morning with trepidation. When returning from work, no matter how late, you also did so with your heart in your mouth. This is why the residents are in jitters over the planned partial closure of that section for three months beginning from Saturday, which is just 48 hours away. The residents knew what they went through in the past and they do not wish to relive that experience.
Berger, the Federal Ministry of Works, the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), the Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Corps (TRACE) of Ogun State and related agencies will promise heaven and earth to ease motorists’ pains during the period, but when it matters most, none of them will be around. Make no mistake about it, this work will take a toll on human and material resources. Those that will bear the brunt most are the residents and workers in the immediate vicinity of the firm’s operation. They will not be able to access their homes and workplaces easily.
The most important aspect of the work to be done during this period is how to manage traffic. The public is jittery because it knows it cannot rely on Berger for help. Those that should be of help will not be there when they are needed most – when traffic is heavy with no room for vehicles to manoeuvre. Traffic on that road is highly unpredictable. How do you explain having a gridlock on the road between 2am and 5am?
As they did in the past, Berger, the works ministry, FRSC and TRACE have promised to make things easy for road users. They did not tell us how they will do that, except to urge us to obey traffic and also use what they called ‘’alternative routes’’. In a situation like this, you cannot rule out chaos. I saw a glimpse of what to expect from Saturday on my way to work on Tuesday.
Berger workers were placing boulders to narrow the lanes. This alone led to traffic build up from Berger to Kara. We know that the road is being rehabilitated for the good of motorists, but their discomfort should be minimal pending the completion of the work.
Talking about ‘alternative routes’, how good are they? Those in authority are quick to direct motorists to these ‘’routes’’ whenever there is an emergency like this, forgetting that for some there may be no alternative route to their homes because of their location on the expressway. How do you expect a resident of Sparklight Estate or Magboro or Arepo or Aseese to go and take any of the listed ‘’alternative routes’’? The routes, according to FRSC, are Epe – Ajah – Ijebu Ode, Lagos – Ota – Itori – Abeokuta and Ikorodu – Sagamu. For such a resident, these are no alternative routes, but a voyage of discovery. When they are not Mungo Park or Christopher Columbus, must they drive round the world in order to leave or get home?
What they need is the construction of link roads near the expressway, which would serve as alternative routes during emergencies like this. To now ask people to travel round the world in order to beat traffic near their homes is not proper. The government should always consider the people’s interest in whatever it does and avoid taking last minute remedial measures that may achieve nothing. Even those suggested alternative routes are not good. They need to be rehabilitated just as the Lagos – Ibadan Expressway. Motorists are, however, forced to take them whenever the Lagos – Ibadan Expressway is locked down.
Another way out may be to get all articulated vehicles off the expressway during this period. These trailers and trucks can be diverted to these alternative routes until the job is completed. But is it still feasible to do that now? It appears too late in the day because of the need to hold talks with them and convince them on why they should avoid the expressway between August 3 and October 31 in the public interest. Going forward, the nation should start thinking of creating a dedicated lane for these long vehicles as a way of addressing the recurring gridlock on the expressway.
For now, road users wait with bated breath as they look forward with anxiety to the partial closure of the only way to and from their homes. May we survive the envisaged suffering and hardship. Certainly, this too shall pass.
The common touch
BORNO State Governor Babagana Zulum is not your typical Nigerian governor. He stands apart from many of his peers with his way of life. He is simple, ascetic and down to earth. They are not made like that anymore. Borno is lucky to have him as governor.
He is the kind that the state, which is being ravaged by Boko Haram, needs at a time like this. The prof, who rode bicycle to and from work as a teacher, paid a nocturnal visit to some hospitals on Monday. He was shocked by what he saw – many patients in a state of helplessness without doctors and nurses to attend to them. He sent anonymous distress calls to those on call, they ignored him.
They thought it was ‘those disturbing patients’ again. Your Excellency, you saw firsthand how those who should save lives allow people to die from their acts of dereliction. In all, 10 doctors and scores of nurses were absent from work. If there was an emergency that night, your guess is as good as mine as to what would have happened to the patient. We need not tell the governor the action to take. Indeed, when the righteous rule, the people rejoice.
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