Commuters spend hours in gridlock on Abuja-Lokoja road

Commuters spent several hours after they were trapped in gridlock in Gwagwalada, along Abuja-Lokoja road, on Monday.

Daily Trust learnt that travellers, especially those from the Eastern part of the country, on Sunday, were held up in the gridlock till the early hours of Monday.

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It was observed that the gridlock started at Dabi-Bako towards the eastern axis and from SDP Junction down to Gwako village of the Northern axis of the highway.

The two-lane highway was merged into one-lane four weeks ago by Dantata & Sawoe.

“Most times, it takes two or three hours on weekdays and even more during weekends to pass through the merged portion of the road which is just about one kilometre,” a commuter said.

He stressed that it is usually a harrowing experience for workers, traders, and travellers every day.

“Worse is that construction work on the affected portion is very slow. I usually spend two hours but today (Sunday) I spent more than three hours, ” he added.

Some travellers who were trapped in the gridlock alighted from their vehicles to board motorcycles to continue with their journey, while some were forced to trek for a distance of three kilometres to board other vehicles and proceed with their journeys.

A motorist, Ismail Mohammed, said he conveyed passengers from Lokoja to Zuba but on getting to Gwagwalada, he was held up in the gridlock.

Daily Trust further observed that motorists coming from Abaji, Kwali, and Lokoja had to drop off their passengers some kilometres away to avoid the gridlock.

The FCT sector commander of the FRSC, Ayuba Wobin Gora, attributed the gridlock to impatience by some motorists and government convoys that beat traffic.