As the Third Mainland Bridge is officially closed today to vehicular traffic, residents, non-residents, motorists and the Lagos state government are apprehensive of the hardship the development will trigger.
Motorists or commuters that may ply the 11.8-kilometre bridge on Sunday (today), will undoutedly have a taste of the anguish Lagosians will go through for the next four months.
Repair work will be carried out on eight joints on both sides of the dual carriage way, also riddled the potholes. The repairs will last for four months — July to November 6.
When viewed from all perspectives, public apprehension is based on the importance of the road linking Lagos Island with the mainland, and for the fact that many of the alternative routes are nothing to cheer.
It is the shortest route to Lagos Island, when one approaches it from Agege, Ikeja, Ojota, Ojodu, Ketu, Ikorodu, and Ebute Meta, among others. The same holds for those commuting from Obalende, Ikoyi, Victoria Island and Lekki, among others, to the mainland.
For inter-state transporters and traders who come from outside Lagos to convey passengers and buy goods respectively at the popular Idumota/Nnamdi Azikiwe and Ebute Ero markets, that route takes them directly to the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, en route Ibadan, Abeokuta, Benin, Onitsha, Oyo, Ilorin, Ogbomoso, Kano, Akure and Osogbo, among other places, without much hassle.
But with the closure of the Third Mainland Bridge, it is now a different story. The alternative routes already have their own challenges. And with the deluge of vehicular and human traffic that will be diverted to these roads from this morning, they will be under more pressure.
Some of the alternative routes, according to the Lagos State Commissioner for Transportation, Mr. Kayode Opeifa, include linking Lagos Island through Carter Bridge via Ikorodu Road; and Murtala Muhammed Way, Ebute Meta, linking Lagos Island through Carter via Funso Williams Avenue (formerly Western Avenue); and linking Lagos Island through Apapa-Oshodi Expressway via Ijora interchange and Eko Bridge, among others.
The Murtala Muhammed Way corridor, which stretches from Yaba to Oyingbo, is one of the alternative routes. Though it is a smooth road, commercial buses popularly known as paragon, are a law unto themselves. They pick passengers indiscriminately at undesignated bus stops, and interrupt free flow of traffic.
Like what obtains on the Yaba/Oyingbo route, motorists coming from the Ikorodu end have to contend with commercial bus drivers who pick passengers in the middle of the road along Mile 12 Market, from as early as 5:30am.
Besides, Ikorodu Road has its own challenges: at certain spots around Onipanu and Baptist Academy bus stops, for those moving from either Yaba or from Funso Williams Avenue towards Ojota/Ikeja, there are undulating spots, what with the underground pipelines along the route. And every year, maintenance works are done on these spots, which may further impede an otherwise heavy traffic.
Furthermore, for those who might want to go through the Apapa-Oshodi Expressway, there is a snag. For one, the road is pot-hole-ridden, a problem which slows down traffic. They are noticeable around Cele and Ijesha bus stops.
Worse still, in certain portions of the road, the service lanes have fallen into disuse, which forcing the commercial bus drivers to pick their passengers on the road indiscriminately.
Though construction work is still being carried out on the road, the workers are noticeable around Berger auto market, and a few kilometres from there.
Reports have it that the gridlock at the Tin Can end of the expressway has since returned. The Lagos State government had impounded about 60 trucks early in May for obstructing free flow of traffic on that axis. With the volume of trucks and tankers heading towards that direction daily and the fact oil tank farms as well as ports are located on this stretch, the diversion of traffic to the route from the Third Mainland Bridge might spell a nightmare.
Some residents who live on the mainland but work on the island have, however, devised strategies to avoid the gridlock and inconvenience that may accompany the closure of the Third Mainland Bridge, inaugurated in 1990. Some of them had, indeed, experienced the same thing in 2008, when the bridge was also closed for repairs.
A resident of Ogba area of Lagos who works in Lekki Phase One, Mr. Daniel Stephen, said he would have to set out for work earlier than he used to do when the bridge was still open. Now, he will have to hit the road by 5:00am, as against the 6:00am he was used to.
He said, “Since I will be going through Ikorodu Road to Carter Bridge from Monday, I have already adjusted the alarm on my phone to beep at 4:30am.
“I will now take my bath and dress up for work under 30 minutes and set out at exactly 5:00am. That is the only way I can beat the early morning gridlock that will be experienced on that road for the next four months.
Stephen, however, told our correspondent that his boss was aware of the closure and the attendant hardship. He had held a meeting with the members of staff who live on the mainland, permitting them to henceforth close work at 4:00pm, an hour ahead of the actual closing time, just to beat the expected holdup.
“Instead of closing at 5:00pm, our boss has given some of us who live on the mainland the privilege of closing at 4:00pm, until the maintenance work is completed,” he added.
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
Such kind of repairs which affect the daily flow of traffic without having good alternative routes is always going to backfire on the government. The Government only thinks from its own perspective without thinking of the general public. May God bless the Fashola Govt. for giving more hardships to the people after the hardships given by the Federal Govt. already this year.
ReplyDelete