The Federal Government says the current weather conditions that characterize the rainy season are making the timely completion of work on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway difficult.
The Southwest Zonal Director of Highways, Federal Ministry of Works, Adedamola Kuti, said this in an interview with newsmen on Wednesday just as motorists and commuters continued to lament the constant traffic gridlock and seemingly unending construction works on the expressway.
Kuti said although it was difficult to say when work on the road would be completed due to the weather, the Federal Government was committed to its timely completion.
Kuti, said, “This project has been ongoing but it is extremely difficult for us to tell when exactly the work will be completed because we cannot even predict the weather. If I give a specific date today and it starts to rain tomorrow, then the date will be shifted. All we know is that work is ongoing, the contractor is on site and we are getting to the end of the project.
“The Federal Government is committed to completing this road and we have reached an advanced stage. We would have finished the job before the rainy season but due to some unforeseen circumstances, we were unable to do so.
“Having entered the rainy season, it has been difficult for us, especially as regards the weather conditions and the traffic situation in Lagos because most of the materials we use on this road come from outside Lagos.”
Speaking on Wednesday, a road user who identified herself as Mrs Adeleye, said, “Sometimes, the traffic will be at in standstill for hours. We don’t know when they will complete the construction.
“We are tired. We cannot continue like this. Before you know it, they will move to another area of the road and then they’ll divide the road, motorists have to manage whatsoever space is left. How long will we continue like this? Let the government look into it.”
Adeleye also expressed concerns that the situation had made commercial drivers hike fares on the route, adding that many who could no longer bear it had relocated from communities in the area such as Arepo, Magboro and Ibafo among others.
Another commuter, Ajibola, lamented the hours being wasted in traffic gridlock on the corridor.
“Sometimes there will be a standstill. Trucks will fall on the road and motorists will have to manage the two lanes. There is nothing we don’t experience on this road, passengers have fainted in this traffic before,” he said.
Another commuter, Seun, said, “They have been fixing this road for years and we have been battling traffic all along. It’s a burden. The heat and inconvenience we suffer in the traffic is another matter. Before the day starts, we are already exhausted because of the traffic. Let something be done quickly, the suffering is becoming unbearable.”