Construction: Lagos Govt Urged To Put In Place Measures Against Accidents, Gridlock

Some road users in Lagos on Thursday appealed to the Lagos State Government to put in place measures to prevent accidents and gridlock on the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) corridor on Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway under construction.

The road users told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that debris from excavations in the construction site had further narrowed the highway, posing danger.

They called for warning signs to avert accidents and reduce gridlock.

Mr Dayo Ogunware, a civil engineer in Shasha area of the state, said that the construction was not being properly managed.

He urged engineers on the site to adopt safety measures.

“I feel that the engineers and other workers on the site are not adopting the right measures.

“By standard, jersey barriers are meant to be used to prevent pedestrian from impending hazard around the excavations made for line drains.

“This was not taken into consideration; it is, therefore, risking the lives of commuters on Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway,’’ he told NAN .

Ogunware added that some trenches were without proper safety signs to warn of dangers ahead.


“The project engineers are not managing space because excavated materials have taken more than half of the road.

“Materials that are not in use should be carried away from the construction zone,” he said.

Ogunware also appealed for suspension of construction at the site at daytime to reduce gridlock.

A civil servant who lives in Ayobo, Mr Dapo Aromasodu, appealed to the state government to speed up the construction to reduce hardship.

Aromasodu also called for warning signs to prevent accidents.

A businessman in Ayobo, Mr Kolawole Olofintunyi, advised that drains should be constructed before any other aspect of the project.

Olofintunyi said that abandoning construction of drains halfway on some sections was increasing travel time on the road.

A health worker, Mrs Eunice Omotayo, also called for enough safety signs to avert accidents and reduce heavy traffic.

“They should remove all those heaps of sand, and put warning signals so that vehicles would not go over them.

“People can also fall into the gutters,” she said.

An estate agent in Iyana Ipaja, Mr Seun Akinola, also appealed to the contractor to clear the debris from excavations which, he said, had covered almost one lane of the road.

A NAN correspondent, who took a trip to the highway, saw heaps of excavated construction materials between Dopemu and Cement Bus Stops on the Oshodi-bound carriageway.