The Nation Newspaper

Category: Transportation

  • Nightmare continues on Apapa-Oshodi road

    Nightmare continues on Apapa-Oshodi road

    It took the Nigerian Navy’s intervention last week to bring sanity to the Apapa expressway that has been long overtaken by tanker drivers. JUDE ISIGUZO and PRECIOUS IGBOWELUNDU report.

    With 9,100 roads, Lagos is expected to enjoy free traffic. But this is not so because many of the roads are bad. Motorists and commuters agonise daily plying the roads.

    Traffic around Apapa, which houses the ports, is a motorist’s hell. Traffic is usually at standstill for hours, with motorists inhaling noxious fumes from heavy duty trucks and tankers.

    This is why many jubilated last Thursday when the Nigeria Navy cleared the area of traffic bottlenecks in an all-night operation.

    With reporters in tow, the naval men moved from one end of the road to the other, removing obstacles to free flow of traffic. Motorists caught in the traffic by 12pm watched as the naval men worked.

    Some of the truck and tanker drivers forced off the road poured invectives on the government for “deriving joy from the poor’s anguish.”

    Tankers and trucks, blocked the road such that motorcycles or tricycles could not pass. Many of the truck drivers abandoned their vehicles to their conductors to sleep on make-shift beds and pillars beside the road.

    The Nation observed that the closure of the Mile2-Apapa, which is under repairs, has forced most motorists to take the Ijora axis as an alternative, but that route has not eased the traffic.

    Many factors are responsible for the gridlock. There are drivers’ indiscipline; extortion by law enforcement agencies and inefficiency by the concessionaire.

     

    The blame game

     

    The obviously infuriated truck and tanker drivers, who had been on the road for days, lamented that their plight is worsened by the absence of adequate parking spaces.

    A truck driver Mr. Daniel Ejiofor said: “ I have been a driver on this route for over 20 years and all these places with giant structures and tankfarms used to be parking spaces. They were all sold off under President Olusegun Obasanjo.

    “Now, the situation is even worse because security agencies allow trucks and tankers that have no business here to park on the road and scout for customers after collecting between N500 and N2,000 from them.

    “When these drivers now park, they leave their conductors in the vehicle and go in search of clients. So, they (security agencies) are further compounding the problem for us here. To make matters worse, the terminal operators are also guilty,” a driver who craved anonymity said.

    A business woman, Mrs Nonye Ifeanyichukwu, said: “The effects of the traffic snarl are encompassing; loss of manpower and time. To beat traffic, we no longer sleep. This is because we get home as late as 1am or 2am and leave for business by 3am. Before, we get  home around 10pm and leave for business around 4am but now, it is something else.

    “I had to boycott the Mile 2 axis for Western Avenue and now the tankers as well as other motorists now follow suite.”

    Motorists are enjoying the naval men’s intervention. All through the weekend, movement on the road was hazzle free, leaving many to wonder how long they would enjoy such luxury before they return to the gridlock.

    Despite the recent pledge by the Federal Roads Committee on Surveillance and Action against Road Abuse (FERCSARA) and Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA) to prosecute errant drivers, many have dismissed them.

    People’s lack of trust in the agencies may not be out of place, especially because both federal and state governments have over the years, made several promises on the roads that were not fulfilled – no thanks to the “powers that be” who own businesses that attract these trucks and tankers. Moreover, the government has not kept its promise that transportation of cargoes from the ports would be done by railway.

     

    What can be done?

     

    Motorists suggested that the government should develop a safer water transportation, so that most people who live in that area can use the waterways and leave the road for the heavy duty vehicles until a more permanent solution is provided.

    The Commander, NNS BEECROFT, Commodore Ovensenri Uwadiae, after a meeting with other stakeholders, advised the concessionaires (terminal operators) to incident their activities for each day and ensure that they run schedules that would allow the vehicles come in only when they are supposed to.

    “There is need for a multi-level approach, including the education of the drivers, because they need to know the situation does not favour them since they end up being in a particular position for hours without achieving anything.

    “We are equally appealing to tankfarm owners and concessionaires operating in the Nigerian Port Authority (NPA) to work out modalities that will see  vehicles move in batches to the port and tankfarms.

    “Instead of this current situation where all vehicles including those without any business move to the port to scout for clients. That cannot help us because the spaces are not there for them to park and they end up blocking roads.

    “There should be proper schedule of vehicles coming to the port to either discharge or load cargos. Timings should be worked out for the vehicles to indicate the time and where they are to come so that the port will be ready to take them as they move in and save us this chaotic situation we are in.

    Uwadiae said the operation will be sustained round the clock until sanity returns to the road. “We will only allow those who have cargos to drop or pick them. Those who do not have proof that they have business in Apapa should either remain at the park provided for them or at Lagos-Ibadan Expressway,” the Commander said.

  • Vehicle owners’, operators’ accreditation still free, says Opeifa

    The ongoing accreditation of commercial vehicle owners and operators is still free, the Lagos State Commissioner for Transportation Mr. Kayode Opeifa has said.

    Opeifa while speaking in his Ikeja office, said though the accreditation ought to have come at a fee to those who are just complying, the payment was waived to enable more operators take part in the exercise.

    He said the government embarked on the exercise first, to generate an authentic database of all commercial vehicles and operators, create a platform for improved service delivery and establish a safe and secure public transport system that can be trusted by all commuters.

    Opeifa said the exercise which ought to have lasted for only two months has been ongoing in the last eight months as part of government’s commitment to ensure that the sector is made safe.

    He said: “Those registering after the commencement of the policy on July 1, ought to have paid for the documentation, but the exercise is being carried out free of charge by the Vehicle Inspection Services (VIS) and the state’s Drivers Institute (LASDRI)’’.

    Opeifa lamented that the low response by owners and operators is affecting the full implementation of the state public transportation management system that is to lead to improved efficiency and effectiveness of public transport, leading to upscale in economic growth, job and wealth creation and the promotion of a safe, reliable, efficient, sustainable and secure public transport system.

    Giving a breakdown of compliance to the new policy, the Transport Commissioner said “only 944 commercial mass transit buses; 13, 839 commercial buses, 7,092 commercial taxis, 2,194 commercial cabs (Kabu-kabu); 221 car hire vehicles and 2,169 tricycles, totaling 26,459 automotives have so far registered with more than an estimated 30,000 operators yet to comply.

    He praised the leadership of the various transport unions; especially the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) and the Taxi Co-operatives for their co-operation and support, and urged the Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN) and the Tricycle Operators to emulate the NURTW and Taxi Co-operatives by mobilising their members to participate en-masse in the exercise in the drive to have a dependable, predictable, reliable and sustainable transport system that would ensure good return on their investment and would also earn dignity, recognition and respect from the society.

  • Tanker drivers issue ultimatum on Apapa-Oshodi Expressway

    Tanker drivers issue ultimatum on Apapa-Oshodi Expressway

    etroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD), an affiliate of the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), has given the Federal Government two months to fix the Apapa-Oshodi Expressway to avoid fuel scarcity.

    PTD National Public Relations Officer Comrade Adebayo Atanda, said though the union is not contemplating a strike, it might be impossible to access the tank farms along the axis and lift the petroleum products if the roads are not mended.

    Atanda said if the rain continues with  the same intensity it has been falling in recent weeks, it might not take more than two months before the road fails and Apapa becomes inaccessible.

    He said: “When this happens, we might not be able to do our business of lifting these petroleum products because we may not be able to access the depots talk less of lifting petroleum products; if we all realise the importance of the centrality of this road to the entire country as the only road from where fuel is moved to every part of the country, then its repairs should be given the urgency it deserves.”

    According to Atanda, 56 tank farms are located in Lagos State alone, out of which 35 are located along the Kirikiri, Trinity junction axis along the wharf/Tin can road.  This is where the condition of the road are most deplorable, causing extreme inconvenience to residents, tanker drivers and other road users.

    He said the PTD is worried because that is the only road plied by all its members nationwide. “Petroluem tankers come in from every part of this country to lift fuel from these tank farms, most of which were along the largest in the country and these tank farms were specifically permitted to be in this axis because of its closeness to the wharf, so there is so much pressure on the road as a result of the heavy commercial and industrial activity that cluster around the port, which is the busiest in the country.

    “We have been told that the contract for the road repair has been awarded to Julius Berger but in the last one year when we have been told that they have been on this road, we are yet to see them around Apapa, and the Wharf area. They are yet to get to any of these tank farms and these are areas that their activities are most needed. That is why we are suggesting that maybe another contractor would be assigned to this area or government would direct them to make the Kirikiri/Wharf a priority on their rehabilitation programme,” he added.

    He said PTD has often been at the butt of criticisms as residents and the government usually find it convenient to blame members of his union for creating problems on the road. At a time, he explained, the state government approved that his men could be parking only on service lanes, but these lanes are now so bad that they can no longer serve the purpose thereby forcing the drivers to get back on the road.

    As part of the union’s corporate social responsibility, his members, he further stated, usually carry out remedial works on the road, sandfilling the depressed spots with crushed stones and rubbles, but these do not stand the test of time because of the pressure on the road.

    He urged government to move swiftly and address the deplorable road in order to reduce the suffering of the people, especially his men, who according to him, are sitting on flammable products and to whom the roads have become a very grave danger.

    Besides regularly fixing the road, the union, he added, constitutes a task force to manage traffic especially around all the tank farms and depots within the area, and these have helped greatly in minimising traffic gridlock around Apapa.

    He thanked the Lagos State government for setting up the Drivers Institute, which his members have been patronising for regular refresher driver trainings, a development that has helped greatly in reducing the carnage on the road.

    “On our part we complement this training with a thorough implementation of safety regulations of our members and we also have vehicle inspection officers at various depots who ensure that not only are the trailers road worthy at every trip, they equally ensure that any driver manning those trailers are duly certified and qualified to be behind the wheels,” Atanda said.

    However, while admitting the slow pace of work, the Federal Controller of Works in Lagos, Oluwatoyin Obikoya, said work on the Oshodi/Apapa Expressway has reached 38 per cent completion.

    Obikoya, who spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria recently, said the high volume of vehicles, indiscriminate parking of articulated vehicles and reckless driving have slowed down the pace of work.

  • Enforcement of master plan begins today

    THE enforcement of the new transport policy takes off in Lagos State today. Under the policy tagged: “Lagos State Strategic Master plan,” only vehicles with the Lagos State number-plate will be permitted to operate as commercial passenger vehicles.

    Also, drivers and conductors yet to be fully registered with the state would be apprehended and prosecuted.

    The Commissioner for Transportation, Mr Kayode Opeifa  said the policy is to ensure sanity in commercial vehicle operations and improve passengers’ safety.

    He warned that other vehicles that  failed to comply would be apprehended found on Lagos roads.

    Government earlier set the deadline for the commencement of the master plan for January 1, but shifted it more than twice due to low compliance and pressure from critical stakeholders, especially members of the transport unions.

    Opeifa said: “To ensure easy identification and a corporate outlook for all transport operators, the state government and the various transport unions agreed and approved a uniform.

    “The take-off of this component of the policy as well as that of the development of a data base for the state’s public transport system has been affected due to the low level of compliance.”

    The commissioner disclosed that going by available data, while 24,257 commercial vehicles, 28, 902 drivers, 591 conductors and 7,637 taxis exist in the state, only 12,000 drivers have so far registered with the state government.

    He pointed out that the ongoing registration exercise has been free without any charge, but that with effect from July 1, operators who are yet to be captured in the exercise will now pay the stipulated price of N20,000 for commercial passengers vehicle owner, N5,000 for drivers and N2,000 for conductors.

    Opeifa urged transport unions that have complied to feel free to go about their normal business activities at the commencement of the full enforcement.

    The commissioner explained that with effect from that date, all commercial vehicles must use the state colour scheme for danfo and molues with the black stripes, new uniform and badges for drivers and conductors.

    He added that each commercial vehicle will be fitted with designated route numbers, names of drivers and conductors as well as phone numbers of Traffic Radio to enable passengers make calls and report any yellow bus seen to be causing obstruction on the highways.

    According to him, the development will enable the state government to nab the operator and invite them for interrogation and for necessary correction in order to restore sanity to Lagos roads.

  • ‘Why passengers are scared’

    Poor state of many boats and ferries plying the waterways have been identified as reasons behind the low patronage of water transportation.

    The Lagos Area Manager of the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), Mr. Muazu Sanbo, gave the hint in his office at a meeting with operators and stakeholders in the water transportation business.

    Sanbo said the authority will soon put in place measures to ensure that all safety requirements are met by operators.

    He listed these measures to include compulsory operators’ permits, survey certificate of all water craft used to ply the waterways, use of manifest by all operators and compulsory certificate of competence for all captains driving water craft on the waterways.

    Sambo said all operators must obtain their permits, survey certificates as well as stickers in the next three months or face sanction which may include stopping such offending firm from operating.

    He noted that the authority has equally printed for the use of all operators a manifest which must be used by all.

    He said NIWA’s decision to print the manifest is to ensure the uniformity of the document used by all operators. He also said the advantage of operators insisting on passengers writing their names on the manifest is that it comes handy for insurance claims in case of accident, as well as serving as a source of information on all the passengers on a particular trip.

    The Area Manager said all operators must obtain their drivers’ permit from the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), before the end of the year.

  • Lagos explains introduction of vehicle tag

    The Lagos State government  introduced the Temporary Vehicle Tag, TVT, to improve vehicle and motorists’ safety and to discourage vehicle-related crimes, the Commissioner for Transportation, Mr. Kayode Opeifa has said.

    Speaking at the stakeholders’ meeting on the introduction of TVT by the Motor Vehicle Administration Agency, MVAA, at the Adeyemi Bero-Auditorium, in Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos, Opeifa said the TVT guarantees a means of identification for yet-to-be-fully registered newly acquired vehicles pending full registration.

    “It ensures that, for a token, a tagged vehicle’s data are captured and stored in the MVAA’s databank for easy tracking of such a vehicle in the event of security challenges. The objective is to keep unregistered vehicles off Lagos roads in order to reduce the festering use of such for criminal activities as well as to discourage vehicle theft while also enabling owners to use their vehicles within hours of port clearance and within the stipulated validity period of 30 days, without fear of apprehension by security agents,” he explained to automobile and spare parts dealers at the meeting.

    He said the TVT was introduced to auto dealers to enable them appreciate the product and its working first-hand, before launch and also to seek clarifications on their roles in the implementation of the TVT scheme.

    “As dealers, it is important for you to help government educate the public through your clients that the TVT is not a substitute for full vehicle registration, but only a provisional permit which confers on the vehicle some of the benefits of full registration during the validity period,” he said, urging the registered dealers to partner with MVAA in the issuance of the TVT.

    Opeifa stated that partnering with government would be vital in order to protect the integrity of the TVT and to discourage forgeries, warning that government would not hesitate to strip erring vehicle dealers of the authority to issue the tag forthwith.

    The commissioner also appealed to auto dealers to comply with the provision of the law by registering  their businesses, lamenting that their compliance to registration had remained unsatisfactory.

    Permanent Secretary, MVAA, Akin Hanson, said the introduction of the TVT was in furtherance of MVAA’s movement to the next level of modernisation of vehicle registration and documentation in the country, consistent with its degree as a ground-breaking organisation in that field.

     

  • ‘Eastern rail system to begin by August’

    ‘Eastern rail system to begin by August’

    The eastern rail line, abandoned for almost three decades, will be functional by August, Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC) Managing Director Mr Adeseyi Sijuwade has said.

    The corporation, according to Sijuwade, will not reverse the new fares it started last week. There was a spontaneous protest on the heels of the hike in fares last Tuesday. One of the corporation’s newly-acquired equipment was vandalised by “hoodlums”.

    The eastern line runs from Port Harcourt to Maiduguri. It is the nation’s second major rail trunk; the first being the western rail line, which runs from Lagos to Kano. The western line has been the corporation’s only reliable and functional rail corridor for over a decade.

    Sijuwade, who spoke in Lagos, admitted that the rail line’s take-off date has been shifted twice due to logistics and security reasons.

    He said work was at an advanced stage, adding that the corporation would soon open its doors to passenger traffic.

    He said: “I can assure you that we shall begin the Port Harcourt to Maiduguri line by August. Specifically, we shall begin passenger services on the Port Harcourt-Enugu route, while the Enugu to Markurdi is progressing and the Makurdi to Jos would also be reaching completion stages at about same time.

    “Kuru to Zungeru would also be almost completed and the only axis that would witness some delay would be from Gombe to Maiduguri, which would be affected by the activities of the Boko Haram insurgents.”

    The five 68-seater air-conditioned cabin trains to be delivered in August, he said, would be deployed on the route.

    Basking in the euphoria of the successful flag-off of its new set of mass transit trains by the Vice President, Namadi Sambo, last week, Sijuwade said the project demonstrated the corporation’s commitment to bequeathing the best train service to Nigerians.

    Sijuwade, who put the cost of the investment at about N4.3 billion, said more of such investments were in the pipeline. According to him,  the investments will reposition the corporation and help fulfill its mandate as the carrier of choice of the masses across the country.

    With the investment, Sijuwade said, Nigeria is now ripe for electronic booking and online ticketing in line with global practices. He added that these processes may begin, especially, for the Diesel Multiple Units (DMUs) before the end of the year.

    “We are now ripe for electronic booking and ticketing. My response to our critics, who have been carpeting our activities before now, has been that we can not put the cart before the horse. We cannot put online systems in place when we have old decrepit trains.

    “But with these world class machines, we are sure we can render commensurate first class services which include online booking and ticketing. This would begin before the year ends and we are certainly going to farm this out to a private concern,” he said.

    Restating why the corporation may not reverse its new fare regime, he said: “We are talking of new improved services, more reliability, enhanced safety and reduction in congestion as well as air-conditioned cabins. If you take all these along with the cost of this new rolling stock, then you will realise that the only way to go is this new fare regime.

    “We have met with all stakeholders and we are sure that they would understand the need to share in our determination to give the best for the railway.”

    He said those arrested by the police in connection with the protest were being interrogated and if found culpable would be charged to court.

    He said the DMU destroyed by the suspects came with enough spare parts, adding that the corporation has the appropriate competence to handle the necessary repairs needed to get the rail car, designed to carry no fewer than 540 passengers back on track.

    He urged Nigerians to support the initiatives of the corporation in its determination to provide the best quality train experience for their commuting pleasure.

  • FRSC enlightens pupils on safety

    A unit of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) has stressed the need for pupils to have basic safety awareness to stay out of danger while walking or inside vehicles.

    At a safety programme, which took place at the Nigeria Armed Forces Resettlement Centre  (NAFRC), Oshodi, Lagos, for primary and secondary pupils, the Unit Commander, Mr Samuel Ogundayo, said the training was aimed at building capacity, knowledge and skills, particularly on the use of Zebra crossing.

    He said the unit, as part of its corporate social responsibility, decided to bring road safety closer home by taking pupils to task on the tips to stay alive while on the roads.

    According to Ogundayo, the programme, with the theme: “Keep The Child Safe” was organised in collaboration with the Golden Penny Pasta and Noodles, to educate pupils about safe road culture, and the importance of safety and security.

    The pupils were taught how to cross the highway using Zebra crossing.

    “We are here to celebrate our children, but unfortunately our joy is not complete because some of our children have been kidnapped. Many were exposed to danger and some are being killed by careless drivers. We need to protect them from harm and danger,” he said.

    He said it was important for every child to understand basic traffic rules and laws, such as road signs, markings and signals to cross the roads.

    According to him, it is also unlawful for any child below 18 years to drive any vehicle.

    He advised children “not to  cross the road in between parked vehicles’’, as it will be difficult for drivers to see them.

    Ogundayo urged the parents of under-aged children and babies to ensure that their children sit on the back seat of the car. He also warned children against having any sharp object or knife in their school bags as it might be harmful to them.

    He asked them to avoid wearing black cloths especially at night and to walk facing oncoming vehicles.

    Ogundayo advised school proprietors to ensure that school buses are road worthy, adding that FRSC will impound school buses that are not road worthy.

    The guest speaker, Miss Taiwo Amusa, advised  the pupils to be at alert before crossing the road and pay attention to road signs. “Red is stop, Amber is get ready to move and Green is start going,” he said.

    Some of the schools at the event are Muslim Junior Comprehensive School, Mushin, Honey Home Primary School, Aguda and Rodiyah Group of Schools, Mushin.

    Dignitaries at event include an official of the Lagos State Ministry of Education, Mr. Esther Ige, Mrs Vera Akerele and FRSC unit head Oshodi, Mrs Adobi Larry -Agugor.

  • Fed. Task Force restates right to federal roads

    Fed. Task Force restates right to federal roads

    There seems to be no end in sight in the tussle between the security agents with Lagos State government and men of the Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme (SURE-P) Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA) SURE-P/FERMA Federal Task Force on who has the right to control federal roads in the state.

    The FERMA Federal Task Force last Thursday said it has the power by law, (going by a subsisting Federal High Court ruling),  to man all federal roads anywhere in the country, including Lagos State.

    FERMA Task Force National Director of Publicity, Mr. Olawale Oyeboh said though LASTMA has been doing a great job in getting the state moving, the federal agency is by law empowered to manage traffic on all federal roads.

    Lagos, being the former  nation’s capital, has 117 federal roads. It has the largest federal road network in the country after Abuja.

    On May 12, men  identified as officers of the FERMA Federal Task Force, took over Ojota, Alausa interchange, and ikorodu road among other federal roads in the state in an operation that took the state government by surprise. Men of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) had to withdraw from such roads to avoid a possible clash.

    The Federal Task Force, however, retreated following a rebuttal by the Lagos State government which described the outfit as “faceless and unknown.”

    The FERMA Federal Task Force returned to the office of the SURE-P/FERMA at the Lagos end of the old toll gate where they continued with their training.

    Matters, however, got worse on May 28, when men of the state Special Task Force on Environment, Sanitation and other offences headed by Bayo Suleiman, a Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP), stormed the SURE-P/FERMA office of the Federal Task Force in a reprisal attack for the alleged attack on some of its men when FERMA’s task force  attempted to arrest a driver who illegally used the dedicated BRT lane at Ketu.

    In the melee that saw the SURE-P/FERMA offices vandalised, no less than 200 Federal Task Force officers undergoing training  were arrested and taken to the Lagos Task Force office, from where they were transferred to the Lagos State Police Command.

    Suleiman told reporters that he swooped on the task force’s office to avenge the attack on his men. “If this attack is not rejected now, it may degenerate,” he said.

    In a telephone interview last Thursday, Oyeboh said the arrested men regained their freedom at about 10 pm the same day, on the orders of the Inspector -General of Police, Alhaji Mohammed Abubakar .

    Oyeboh, who lamented the degree of violence by the Suleiman-led task force, blamed ignorance for the high handedness of the state against the federal agency.

    A Federal High Court in a judgment in 2004, Oyeboh said, ordered states’ owned traffic management outfits such as men of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) out of federal roads.

    The Federal Task Force spokesman said the judgment, which is yet to be appealed by any government including Lagos, gave FERMA the sole right, not only to maintain all federal roads, but to manage traffic on such roads anywhere in the country.

    He said the agency has lost millions of naira worth of property in the “sponsored attack on its office,” as thugs invaded the office to loot. According to him, policemen accompanying the state officials  willfully damaged properties in FERMA office.

    He said the National Coordinator for SURE-P/ FERMA Task Force Alhaji Abdulrazak Rafiu Otto has directed  men of the agency to continue with their training ahead of their assignment to federal roads later in the year.

  • LASU-Iba road to be partially closed

    For 56 days, the LASU-Iba Expressway would be partially closed to traffic following the construction of four culverts by the China Civil Engineering and Construction Company (CCECC) Nigeria Limited, the Lagos State Government has said.

    The  Commissioner for Transportation, Mr Kayode Opeifa, who disclosed this last Wednesday, said  work has started on the first two locations- Olorunfemi and Elero-Akesan Bus-Stops, for the first 30 days. It started on June 4, to end on July 3.

    The other two locations are at NYSC and Ologbonla Bus Stops and construction activities, which will last 26 days, would begin  on Friday July 4, to end on July 29.

    Opeifa said all vehicles going in both directions would be restricted to one lane in alternate sessions at these locations on the road.

    Traffic re-routing, he said, would be carried out around these corridors, to facilitate seamless traffic flow.

    He called on motorists to use alternative routes to avoid delays,  urging them to obey traffic regulations during the period.