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Guardian NigeriaOct 8, 2023 5:11 AM
Declaration by the Federal Government that the first phase construction of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway project had been completed and delivered to ensure free traffic flow is cheering. It signposts great relief for motorists...

Declaration by the Federal Government that the first phase construction of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway project had been completed and delivered to ensure free traffic flow is cheering. It signposts great relief for motorists, commuters, passengers and residents of communities that adjoin the highway who have suffered untold hardship under frequent gridlock that characterized the job since it started more than 10 years ago.


Indeed, the relief now is palpable and tend to confine the hardship experienced even recently into the past. The price paid by Nigerians during the construction period was very high, as many people died from impaired health caused by the stress; while many others were killed, maimed and lost valuables to traffic robbers who took advantage of slow-moving traffic to perpetrate their criminal acts on hapless citizens.

Government should ensure that Nigerians do not have to go through such anguish again either on the road or on other Nigerian roads. While the remaining phases of work on the road are not expected to be as laborious as the completed phase, they are nonetheless important and constitute vital chains in the entire expressway. Until these phases are completed, the road is not fully ready.

Federal Controller of Works, Lagos State, Mrs. Olukorede Kesha, recently broke the news that the first phase construction of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway project had been completed and delivered to ensure free traffic flow; even before the mid-September date promised by the Minister of Works, Mr. David Umahi. Phase one of the project was to complete the main carriageway to ensure smooth rides and free flow of traffic which had been achieved. She said that ongoing construction on the highway median drains were minor works that would not affect traffic.


Work on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, easily the busiest and most important road in the country, was divided into three phases for ease of construction and administration,. “The phase one is to allow the major carriageway from Chanage zero to 43 to be completed. That is the phase one which has been delivered now by the contractor. The phase two comprises the overhead bridges, the pedestrian bridges and then the interchange. That one is phase two, we are about moving into that,” she said.

It is important that the project should be completed as designed, otherwise its purpose would not be realized; and the hundreds of billions of naira that are being spent on the highway that is considered as the busiest in West Africa and crucial to income generation by the Federal Government, and by extension national economic development, would make very little impact.

Umahi during a visit to project sites in Lagos and Ogun states had explained that other ancillary works, including interchanges and underpasses, on the road would continue after inauguration. He sought the support of Lagos and Ogun states governments towards payment of compensation for recovery of the Right of Way. While the minister was inspecting section two of the road, covering Sagamu Interchange to Ibadan, he advised the contractor handling the section, Reynolds Construction Company (RCC) to include a mix of cement in the Macadam that is being used for the project, explaining that it would make the highway to last for 100 years and be used for 50 years without maintenance. Umahi disclosed plan by the Federal Government to use consultants to concession and toll all federal highways in the six geo-political zones.

Reconstruction work on the road was kicked-off by former President Goodluck Jonathan in early July of 2013. Before the project was awarded to RCC that handled the section two and Julius Berger Plc that is handling section one that stretches from Lagos to Sagamu Interchange, the Lagos-Ibadan road was in a very bad shape. Many sections of the road had failed completely and accessing Lagos, the economic hub of the country, became very stressful and distressing. Without doubt, the dilapidated state of the highway was negatively affecting revenue generation by the Federal Government from the various prominent ports located in the city.


To road experts, the terrible condition of the Lagos-Ibadan highway was caused majorly by thousands of trucks and articulated vehicles carrying goods that are considered too heavy for the road, including petroleum products, from the Lagos ports to different parts of the country. For decades, the road suffered under unbearable weight of these trucks and lack of adequate maintenance. One of the reasons the federal government is reconstructing and expanding the highway is to ensure easy and free access to Lagos, particularly the ports, with a view to boosting revenue generation.

Since work began on the road, many people have suffered greatly. Many have lost their lives. The frequent diversion of traffic for months for the contractors to be able to do the work at different locations most times kept the road users on the road for very long hours, with dire consequences for their routine official works and businesses. Many times, motorists and passengers have slept on the road when they could not exit gridlock before dawn. At different times, some people who opted to commute in commercial motorcycles, with the operators riding against traffic, lost their lives in accidents. Highway robbers took advantage of the situation, especially when security personnel were far away or were not around at all, to attack road users and dispossess them of their valuables, including money, phones and laptop computers. The criminals inflicted serious injuries on people from whom they could not get anything to steal during attack.

Beyond the completion of Phase One, the project should be completed as designed. The Federal Controller of Works for Lagos and Ogun states a few years ago, Kayode Popoola, had once assured journalists that what Nigerians were hoping to see in the project were already in the design. He explained that service lanes, interchanges, flyovers, underpasses, bus stops, lay-bys, restrooms, toll plazas and others are part of the design.
The minister told the nation that work would continue on these other parts of the project after inaugurating the highway. It will boost the confidence of the people in the government if the design of the road that is being executed with taxpayers’ money is made public and the citizens can further know what to expect. The Federal Government should walk its talk as Nigerians await complete implementation of the project

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