Several motorists and passengers travelling to Lagos from other parts of the country were left stranded for hours, yesterday, on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway as contractors resumed construction work on Kara bridge.

It was gathered that due to the construction around the bridge, traffic had to be diverted for motorists coming to Lagos and for those travelling to other parts of the country from Lagos.

Several passengers had to alight from their vehicles and use commercial motorcycles.

Some passengers had to resort to walking long distance after alighting from their vehicles out of frustration. Some vehicles also developed  problems.

It was, however, a good business day for commercial motorcycles plying the Mowe-Berger bus stop as they witnessed an increase in patronage in spite of the fact that they were riding against traffic.

Others travelling to Lagos to resume work or perform other transactions were also stranded at various bus stops, including Mowe, Ibafo, Asese, Prayer City, Magboro, Arepo and Warewa respectively.

Those who boarded commercial motorcycles said  they had to revert to that option and pay extra fares to reach their destinations on time.

Chidi Nnamdi, who works in Victoria Island, Lagos, said he left home at about 5.a.m. but that by 9.45 a.m., he was still held up in traffic on the bridge linking Warewa with OPIC.

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“If I had known the situation was going to be like this, today I would have stayed back at home. What tangible work can I do  today on getting to the office. Do I even know when that will be?” he queried.

Nnamdi faulted Julius Berger for not creating passable alternative routes for vehicles plying the route given that the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway is a very busy road. He also appealed to faith-based organisations with camps along the expressway to plead with the Federal Government to intervene over the plights of their members who constantly ply the road for church programmes

Another vehicle owner, Waheed Idowu, described the situation as a waste of human and material time.

“I left home at Ibafo at about 6a.m for a trip that should have lasted 30 minutes at the maximum to Lagos. But, I am still on the long bridge at 9.50 a.m. You can see the waste in human and material resources,” he said.

Similarly, John Ola, who joined another  passengers to ride on a motorcycle, said they paid N500 from Magboro to Berger bus stop.

Mrs Bolatito Olayemi, who was taking her children to school, said it was inconsiderate of the construction company not to have made provisions for alternative routes before the resumption of work along the corridor.

“Only God will help my boys to meet up with their school activities. We have been on the road since 6:45 a.m. and it is very sad we are still on the long bridge after two hours,” she said.

Construction on the highway was completed on December 1, 2019, but work on the Lagos outbound section was suspended due to the Yuletide.