Reported By Ariajegbe Esezobor Sylvia
The Lagos State Government has appealed to motorists for patience and deployed additional traffic officers to the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway after a fallen truck and ongoing rehabilitation work at Kara Bridge combined to paralyse movement along one of Nigeria's busiest corridors, leaving commuters stranded for hours and sparking a sharp spike in transport fares.
Speaking on Wednesday, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Transportation, Mr Olawale Musa, said the fallen truck had been evacuated by the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority. He, however, noted that the situation had been worsened by some motorists driving against traffic. Musa said more traffic officers had been deployed to the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway axis to manage traffic and improve movement. He added that the Ministry would continue to work with relevant stakeholders, including the Lagos and Ogun State Police Commands, the Ogun State Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Corps and LASTMA, to ease the situation. The Permanent Secretary said the ongoing rehabilitation work at Kara Bridge may temporarily cause inconvenience but remains essential to preserving critical transport infrastructure and guaranteeing the long-term safety, functionality and resilience of the corridor. He said the rehabilitation work will be completed soon.
The General Manager of LASTMA, Mr Olalekan Bakare-Oki, said officials of the agency had continued to work round the clock to ensure smoother traffic flow. He urged motorists to remain patient and desist from driving against traffic whenever there was an obstruction on the road. Bakare-Oki said the agency would continue its public advocacy efforts to encourage voluntary compliance with traffic rules. He advised motorists to use alternative routes, including the Ikorodu Garage-Ogijo-Sagamu route connecting through Lotto to the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, the Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway for those travelling towards Lagos and adjoining destinations, and the Ikorodu-Ijebu-Ode route for motorists heading towards Ijebu-Ode.
The gridlock, which began on Tuesday and persisted into Wednesday, was triggered by a multiple-vehicle crash at Kara Bridge involving seven vehicles, including a 40-foot container truck, a Toyota Hilux, an interstate bus, a Hyundai Odyssey, a Sienna, a Toyota Highlander and a Mitsubishi Hilux. The Lagos State Emergency Management Agency said the container truck developed a mechanical fault while in motion, causing its driver to lose control and collide with the other six vehicles. LASEMA said its response team arrived at the scene at 6:05 a.m. and coordinated recovery efforts with LASTMA and the Nigeria Police Force. All the affected vehicles were eventually removed from the carriageway, and no deaths or injuries were recorded. The crash initially disrupted traffic heading toward Ogun State before the resulting congestion spread toward Lagos, with motorists driving against traffic to escape the gridlock subsequently creating additional obstruction around the OPIC section.
The impact on commuters was severe. The gridlock stretched from the expressway to Alapere Road and towards the Third Mainland Bridge, with spillovers into Ikorodu Road and other parts of Lagos. The road section from 7Up to Berger was particularly affected, with traffic virtually at a standstill. Some motorists reportedly spent up to six hours in traffic, with queues extending for more than 20 kilometres, while some commuters resorted to trekking to their destinations. The situation also triggered a shortage of commercial buses, while some transport operators reportedly increased fares by more than 200 per cent. One commuter who spoke to journalists described spending the night in his vehicle, while another said a journey that normally took minutes had stretched into hours.
The congestion was further compounded by the ongoing rehabilitation of expansion joints on Kara Bridge, which began on September 8 and is expected to last about two weeks. The project, directed by the Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi, involves the replacement of deteriorating expansion joints to improve road safety, structural integrity and long-term traffic flow. The Lagos State Commissioner for Transportation, Oluwaseun Osiyemi, had earlier warned motorists of possible gridlock when the repairs commenced, explaining that one half of the affected section would be closed at a time while motorists used the other half to facilitate movement. Osiyemi said more than 100 traffic and security personnel had been deployed along the corridor to check motorists driving against traffic, which he said had worsened the situation. He added that the rehabilitation work was expected to be completed on Wednesday, after which the bridge would undergo a two- or three-day curing period before being fully reopened to traffic.
The crisis has drawn direct appeals from the governors of both affected states. Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, in a post on Instagram, said he understood the frustration of Lagosians travelling out of the state and those heading to different destinations within the city. "I understand the frustration of Lagosians commuting out of Lagos and those going to their various destinations within the city, following a multiple accident involving trucks at Kara Bridge. The situation was further compounded by the ongoing repair works on the bridge," he said. Sanwo-Olu said LASTMA officials, emergency response teams, security agencies and other traffic management teams had been deployed to the area to ease the congestion and keep traffic moving. He appealed to motorists to cooperate with traffic officials and make alternative travel plans where possible. "I appeal to all motorists to please be patient, obey the directions of traffic officials and plan their journeys where possible. Most importantly, we feel your pain. Please, stay safe."
Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun, in a separate post, said the Ogun State Government had taken note of the traffic challenges affecting movement around Kara Bridge and adjoining sections of the expressway. He said TRACE had been mobilised to strengthen traffic coordination and provide assistance to road users. "TRACE personnel are working with relevant security, emergency and traffic management agencies to clear obstructions, prevent further gridlock and improve movement along the affected axis," Abiodun said. He urged motorists to approach the area with caution, avoid driving against traffic and refrain from creating additional lanes, warning that such actions often worsen congestion and delay emergency operations. "Commercial drivers and articulated vehicle operators are particularly advised to exercise restraint and comply with all traffic directions," he said. Abiodun said the immediate priority was to protect lives, maintain order and reduce the inconvenience being experienced by commuters.
The joint enforcement operation between Lagos and Ogun states, which includes commissioners of transportation from both states, commissioners of police, officials of the Federal Road Safety Corps, LASTMA, TRACE and other security agencies, reflects a recognition that the gridlock cannot be resolved by one state alone. The Lagos-Ibadan Expressway serves as the primary artery connecting Lagos, Nigeria's commercial capital, to the rest of the country, and any disruption along the Kara Bridge corridor ripples across the entire South-West and beyond. With the rehabilitation work nearing completion and a curing period of two to three days remaining, the government is urging motorists to familiarise themselves with alternative routes, plan their journeys ahead and obey the directives of accredited traffic management personnel. For the thousands of commuters who have spent hours trapped on the expressway over the past two days, the promise of relief cannot come soon enough.
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