…as road construction disrupts movement
Commuters and motorists plying the Abule-Egba–Kola corridor in Lagos have faced severe traffic congestion in recent days as ongoing road construction forces vehicles travelling in both directions to share a single lane.
The gridlock, which has persisted for about five days, has significantly disrupted movement along the busy corridor. Commuters spend extended hours on the road, with many abandoning commercial vehicles to trek long distances to their destinations.
The situation stands in contrast to the Lagos State Government’s commitment under its THEMES Plus agenda to improve transportation infrastructure and traffic management across the metropolis, where efficient mobility and congestion reduction remain core priorities.
The State transport policy emphasizes upgrading road infrastructure, improving network connectivity, and deploying traffic controls to optimize existing transit routes.
However, the current gridlock along the Abule-Egba–Kola axis highlights the acute friction commuters face when major rehabilitation works begin on already saturated transit arteries.
With one carriageway closed for construction, traffic moving in opposite directions must squeeze through the remaining lane, creating an intense bottleneck during peak morning and evening hours.
The squeeze has equally battered commercial bus operators, who crawl through the narrowed carriageway, sharply reducing turnaround times and leaving passenger queues stranded at nearby stops.
The Abule-Egba–Kola corridor serves as a primary transit artery connecting multiple residential communities within Lagos to adjoining border towns, making reliable access indispensable for workers, students, and traders.
The disruption coincides with broader state interventions targeted at easing travel stress along the axis.
Notably, the linked Abule-Egba–Iju-Ishaga corridor forms part of the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority’s Quality Bus Corridor initiative, an intervention intended to enhance route reliability and transit efficiency.
While road reconstruction remains critical for the corridor’s long-term serviceability, the immediate disruption has sparked urgent calls for better traffic diversion and safety measures around construction zones.
Road users have urged the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority to step up deployments of personnel to direct traffic at critical choke points during peak hours.
Motorists have also called on the contractor and relevant agencies to accelerate the pace of work and issue clear public advisories outlining alternate routes and completion timelines.
While commuters acknowledge that the short-term disruption should eventually yield better road conditions, the daily gridlock continues to test the state’s capacity to manage traffic seamlessly alongside vital infrastructure delivery.