The traffic diversion by the Lagos State Government to rehabilitate the Odo Iya Alaro Bridge along Ikorodu has made commuting increasingly difficult for residents.
A resident who spoke anonymously told FIJ on Tuesday morning that while the repair might be necessary, it had caused extreme inconvenience for people plying the route.
The resident stated that it had caused terrible gridlock on the Ikorodu Road and had made places of necessity inaccessible.
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“No one is asking the government not to do repairs, but they must not come at a cost of gross inconvenience to the residents,” she told FIJ.
“The inconvenience is not just the gridlock one has to endure but also the increase in the already hiked transport fare.
“The commercial drivers are charging ridiculous prices for transportation. Just two days ago, when they started this project, the fare that used to be N100 to Mile 12 from Irawo and Idera is now between N300 and N500.
“They are charging N400 for Ketu instead of N300, and then N700 and more to get to Ojota instead of the usual N500, just because of the renovation.”
The source also said that besides the renovation, another cause of the hike in transportation fares was the unsteady supply of fuel in the country.
“Ever since Bola Tinubu became president, fuel supply and prices have fluctuated, and nothing has been normal. We pay exorbitant prices for nearly everything,” she said.
Another resident told FIJ that it cost him N4,000 to get to Maryland from Irawo on Monday afternoon due to the gridlock caused by the repairs.
He stated that road repairs should be done when people are not going to work.
“On Monday, I had a flight to catch and tried to use one of the e-hailing rides, but none of the drivers were available. I started looking for Bolt for a 1:55 pm flight from around 10 am and did not get it,” he said.
“I got to the expressway and saw a long line of traffic. This was when I knew I had to make a quick decision. I took a bike ride down to Maryland and paid N4,000 for what would ordinarily cost me N500.
“Alternatively, they can do the repairs only when people are not going to work or create an alternative route for residents to use by not restricting private and commercial vehicles from using the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) lanes.
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“This is not the time to separate them. Residents paying taxes that enable the state government’s repairs should not be punished while going to that work.”
In Ojota, a tricycle rider told FIJ that the three-month timeframe scheduled for the project was too much. He said this time was allocated without alternative plans for residents.
“The state government said they would be repairing the Odo Iya Alaro Bridge and would need three months to complete the repairs,” he told FIJ.
“A whole three months,” he counted his fingers. “Look around and see the mess the repairs have caused on this road. We are now moving at a snail-pace to get anywhere.”
Oluwaseun Osiyemi, the state commissioner for transportation, announced on Thursday that the state was diverting traffic from the bridge, requiring emergency repairs.
He also stated that the rehabilitation would be in two phases, starting with the Ojota-bound lane and then the Yaba/Ojuelegba/Maryland-bound lane.
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