Motorists and commuters were on Sunday stranded for hours in a gridlock on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway as a result of a fuel-laden tanker that fell under the Ibafo pedestrian bridge inward Ibadan in the early hours of the day.
To avoid a tragedy, relevant government agencies closed the two lanes of the expressway completely from traffic from the Ibafo end, bringing movement to a standstill.
The situation forced many motorists caught in the gridlock to drive against traffic, thereby further compounding the chaotic situation.
It was gathered that as of 2pm, the traffic jam from Ibafo on the inward Lagos lane had extended beyond the Aseese end of the expressway while that of the inward Ibadan lane had extended towards Berger Bus Stop in Lagos.
The situation forced many commuters to abandon the vehicles they were travelling in and the drivers to their fate while they resorted to trekking a long distance.
Commercial motorcyclists, however, made brisk business by conveying desperate and stranded commuters on the expressway, charging exorbitant fares.
A journalist who monitored the situation reported that commercial motorcyclists were charging N1,500 per passenger from Ibafo to Berger while conveying at least two passengers at the same time.
The situation was the same with motorcyclists who were charging N1,000 per passenger from Ibafo to Mowe.
Hawkers of cold drinks also made brisk business as stranded commuters who have trekked a long distance resorted to buying cold drinks.
Some of them were seen pouring cold water on their head while taking a short rest under the bridge not too far from the Mountain of Fire Ministries on the highway.
Capitalising on the gridlock on the main bridge, residents in the area mounted a toll in and around a quicksand under the Long Bridge, charging motorists that chose to navigate their ways through the newly-created route as high as N200.
Some helpless motorists were forced to park their vehicles at different available spaces such as car wash centres and filling stations along the road while waiting endlessly for the gridlock to reduce.
Speaking with journalists on Sunday, a lady who was returning from a church service who identified herself simply as Bisi said she paid N500 as transport fare to Magboro only for the driver to drop her off at Wawa after sighting the traffic jam ahead.
“I paid N500 from Wawa to Magboro, I waited hours but didn’t get a bus. When I finally saw one, I didn’t mind the hiked price. Now, he dropped all of us off in Arepo, saying that he could not continue the journey. All of us in the vehicle had to keep trekking till we could get a motorcycle to convey us to Magboro,” she said.
Another lady, Blessing, who said she and her two daughters had been trekking from Wawa, said that she could not take a motorcycle to Mowe as a result of the hike in price.
“All the motorcyclists I saw were asking for N1,000 to convey me and my two daughters. I didn’t plan for this when I left home in the morning. So, I decided to walk down to Magboro. I believe the fare will not be as much as that from there,” she said.
Another commuter, Segun Abiodun, told journalists that he was stranded at the 7up end of the expressway for over four hours, and had to enter a commercial bus to Magboro for N1,000.
A motorist, Charles Akpan, simply said, “This is hell on earth, it is beyond description.”
A traveller also said that he got to the Redemption City at 12noon but did not get to Lagos until 7pm.
“I shouldn’t have spent more that 30 minutes for that seven-hour. My family members ended up eating breakfast, lunch and dinner before we got home,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Corps Public Education Officer, Federal Road Safety Corps, Bisi Kazeem, in a statement on Sunday, said the traffic was aggravated by some impatient drivers who drove against traffic, blocking the entire available exit route.
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