From Paul Osuyi
A total of 4,000 vehicles plied the second Niger Bridge when it was temporarily opened for motorists between December 15, 2022 and January 15, 2023.
The Federal Government had opened the bridge during the period to ease traffic to and from the eastern part of the country during the yuletide.
Giving the traffic situation report on the new bridge during the period, the Delta State Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Mr. Udeme Bassey Eshiet said commuters who traveled for the festive period had a smooth drive to and from South-East without sleeping at the Niger Bridge.
According to him, “we had a total of 2,250 vehicles that made use of the new Niger Bridge when moving from west or north to east.
“On their return lane from east to west or north, we had about 1,750 that made use of the second Niger Bridge, which was a very big feat.”
FRSC commander commended the Federal Government for temporarily opening the bridge to road users when it was most needed.
Eshiet said traffic situation in Delta State since he assumed office has been challenging.
He added however that the command has been able to surmount the challenges.
Eshiet revealed that speed limit violation was the major cause of the road crashes, saying that people were driving at the suicidal speed to meet up with their personal concern, which leads to the death of many people.
He said wrongful overtaking and overloading were also responsible for road crashes.
“We discovered that number of people killed was as result of overloading in persons, even when the number of crashes reduced, you find out that number of people that died increased,” he added.