Motorists and commuters have lamented that the Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway has remained a death trap due to its bad state despite appeals to the government to fix the road.
They noted that many drivers have resorted to driving against traffic and causing avoidable accidents due to the bad portions of the road.
Our correspondent who visited the road on Thursday reported that the worst hit are some spots at Abule-Egba, U-Turn, Ijaiye and Alakuko areas up to the old tollgate at Sango-Ota, Ogun State.
It was learnt that while some motorists have resorted to completely abandoning the stretch of road by using some inner roads like the Abule-Egba-Ekoro Road, some others who still manage to use the bad roads are always faced with difficulties.
A driver, Uche Michael, told our correspondent that since the condition of the road deteriorated over two years ago, it has been challenging driving on it.
He said, “From Abule-Egba to Toll Gate is bad. Motorists are driving against traffic on the road and if taskforce officials see them, they will arrest them. I believe that is wrong because the government has refused to fix the road.
“The road has been damaged for more than two years. They only came one time to pour stones on the road and it made the matter worse. Passengers and motorists are fed up with the whole thing. Accidents happen regularly on the road because of its condition.”
A resident simply identified as Ade claimed that the poor condition of the road frequently results in car damage and gives hoodlums a means to extort drivers.
He explained, “The road is bad and it damages vehicles. When a vehicle gets damaged on the road, touts surround the vehicle and extort the driver.
“The government only came to fill the road with granite so they can snap and publish the pictures to make it look like they are doing a good job. When it rains heavily, it is even worse on the road. The government should please help us fix the road.”
Another resident identified as Modupe said, “I see how cars find it difficult to ply the road. The road is very terrible.”
When contacted for comment, the Director of Information, Federal Roads Maintenance Agency, Maryam Sanusi, asked our correspondent to contact the Federal Ministry of Works.
