The Federal Ministry of Public Works and Housing removed barriers on section one of the ongoing Lagos-Ibadan Expressway project on Monday, in a move that would be a great relief for commuters on that busy axis.
The action of the Federal Government is to facilitate a better flow of vehicular traffic, especially in this Christmas season.
According to NAN, workers used heavy equipment to remove guardrails and other diversion points for the free flow of traffic on the Opic U-Turn section of the highway.
Motorists traveling the Lagos-Ibadan route complain of several hours spent in a traffic jam on that axis due to ongoing construction.
FG promised to reopen the road to traffic for the holidays
The Director of the Federal Highway, Southwest, Mr. Adedamola Kuti, who oversaw the reopening around OPIC, said the government earlier promised to reopen the highway to traffic on Thursday, but brought it earlier to ease the bottleneck.
He noted that due to the festive season, all obstructions in section one stretching from Ojota in Lagos to the Sagamu interchange will be removed on Monday.
- He said, “As part of our Ember Months program, we made an announcement announcing that all barriers at road construction sites will be removed by December 15 to allow for free movement this season.
- “So, in the Lagos-Ibadan highway project, we have already reached a level where we can allow those barriers to be removed.
- “So instead of waiting for Thursday, December 15, as we did on the other section, from the Old Toll to the Otedola Bridge, which we opened to traffic last week, we have also completed this section to the level where it can allow movement. .”
Construction will continue in January
Kuri added that all construction would also halt on section two of the project that runs from the Sagamu interchange to Ojoo in Ibadan on Thursday, to further boost the movement ahead of Yuletide.
He said the contractors would return to the site in January to complete the project, adding that the Federal Ministry of Works was targeting delivery by the first quarter of 2023.
He said that some unforeseen circumstances, including heavy rain, delayed construction, hence the new expected delivery date of 2023.
He said police and traffic regulatory agencies would take over the road and thanked motorists for their patience during the construction period.
For the record
- Travelers on the ever-busy Lagos-Ibadan expressway had complained of the frustrations and nightmares they face from the traffic jam they experience on that axis due to the reduction of the expressway from 4 lanes to 2 or even one sometimes as a result of reconstruction. of the path
- This has reportedly caused many commuters and motorists on that hub to sleep on the highway at times or spend several hours in traffic before navigating through their journey.
- The Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Raji Fashola, had earlier secured the Federal Government’s commitment to complete the Lagos-Ibadan highway by December 25, 2022.
- The Lagos-Ibadan Expressway is a 127.6 km expressway connecting Ibadan, the capital of Oyo State, with Lagos, the largest city in Nigeria.
- The highway, which is the oldest in Nigeria, is also the main route to the northern, southern and eastern parts of Nigeria and is the busiest interstate route in Nigeria, constituting one of the largest highway networks in Africa.
…FG reopens Lagos-Ibadan highway as construction site barriers are removed Read more at… Naijaonpoint.