The federal government on Monday reopened the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway fully to traffic from OPIC inbound Lagos.
This followed the perennial gridlock being experienced by motorists plying the expressway, especially those entering Lagos in the past few months.
The federal government had promised to reopen the expressway for the Yuletide season to ensure free vehicular movement while work would continue after the holiday.
But with the new development, the federal government has shifted the completion date of the all-important expressways connecting all parts of the country to Lagos, the nation’s commercial capital, from December to 2023.
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Speaking yesterday at the scene of the reopening, the Director, South-West, Federal Ministry of Works and Housing, Adedamola Kuti said all barriers were being removed as part of the ember month’s programme to ensure free movement of vehicles during the Yuletide season.
He said, “We have attained a level, which we can let road barriers be removed though the construction work has not been completed as it is still a work in progress but because of the season we are in, rather than us opening new sections of the road that cannot be completed before Thursday, we will ease off traffic on the road and allow free movement so our people can travel during Christmas period till January when we can resume work.”
He, however, charged road users to still drive according to the rules, saying, “The stipulated maximum speed is 100km/hour, we want to urge our people to remain disciplined and drive safely”.
On the completion date, he said the date had been shifted due to some unforeseen circumstances like rain and prices of materials but affirmed that there are plans to complete the construction work before the end of first quarter of next year.
The Commissioner of Police, Ogun State, Lanre Bankole who was also at the scene, pledged the police support in ensuring the lives and properties of the citizens were safe.
He, however, appealed to motorists to abide by traffic rules at all times.
“We found out that the indiscipline exhibited by motorists has greatly contributed to the gridlock, which itself also has some security implications, we are able to surmount all of this and ensure that adequate security is provided to the road users in Ogun State,” he said.
The FRSC Zonal Commander for Lagos and Ogun states, Assistant Corps Marshal Peter Kibo further charged road users to respect speed limit stipulation.
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