Job Osazuwa
After years of persistent suffering in the axis, commuters and motorists plying the Oshodi-Apapa Expressway have a valid cause to nurse some hope. For them, the end to years of affliction seems to be in sight.
For many years, the route has been notorious for gridlocks as a result of many failed portions on the road in that very part of Lagos. Constructed between 1975 and 1978, it is the major road that leads to the Tin Can Island Port and the Apapa Wharf, where import and export of goods take place 24 hours daily.
For years, driving on the highway has been a regular nightmare for motorists. Several failed portions of the expressway caused by total abandonment of the road for decades have turned the route to one living hell. In the past few years, the road has become so bad that trucks seeking to access the Tin Can Island Port were forced to line the road from the port up to Ilasamaja and Isolo.
At some point, there was hardly a week that passed without a tanker or articulated vehicle wobbling and tumbling down on the road. Lives have been lost, varied degrees of injuries sustained and vehicles damaged beyond repair in the crashes. It got so bad that commercial motorcycle riders, who were notorious for manoeuvring through every little space available, became the only dependable options for commuters. Traffic laws were flouted at will. Driving and riding against traffic became the norm for all. Vehicles taking one way did so with impunity. Hoodlums capitalised on the crisis to unleash mayhem on commuters and motorists by robbing them of their valuables.
But stakeholders and commuters are convinced that all that would soon be a thing of the past. Already, the Federal Government has hearkened to the cries of millions of road users who have been crying, protesting and pleading that something needed to be done on that hugely important road. And right now, the road is being reconstructed.
The project is being undertaken by the Federal Government, in conjunction with the Dangote Group. Motorists and other commuters that spoke with the reporter expressed joy that the road was being reconstructed at last. They claimed that the Oshodi-Apapa road, upon completion, would bring tremendous reprieve to millions of Lagos residents and people from other parts of the country who ply their trade in the Apapa axis. They, however, called on government and the construction firm handling the project to speed up the work. Of particular interest is the section of the road between Mile Two and the Tin Can Island Port.
For years, the entire stretch from Mile Two inwards Berger Under Bridge, Trinity Bus Stop and TinCan Island’s first and second gates has been riddled with gullies. The road was a no-go area for buses and cars. Trucks spent days and weeks to crawl to the port, terminals and tank farms to pick or discharge goods.
In those days, many complained that the daily chaos on the road was enough to cause psychological and emotional trauma to users.
Some road users who spoke with the reporter said the expressway that was hitherto characterised by gullies is now experiencing solid rehabilitation.
Managing director of a private hospital at Kirirkiri, Apapa, Mr. Chukwu Chidi, told the correspondent that his business has suffered huge setbacks since the area has become overwhelmed by gridlock.
“Many people who have one business or the other around here have relocated because of the traffic situation that we have been facing for years. The mere mention of Apapa will make people to think of somewhere else to take their patients to. I would have left the area for a better location for long, but for my investment spanning over two decades, and the facilities that might not be easy to move.
“I cannot quantify my loss in the last eight or 10 years due to the bad road. As much as I can remember, I have lost up to six patients in transit inside the ambulance while trying to find our way out of the usual traffic congestion. Anyone that has survived the Apapa traffic can survive any hardship on earth. It got to a point that I didn’t use my car for over one month. Those days should better be gone forever.
“Immediately we heard that the Federal Government and Dangote Group have taken over the rehabilitation, we knew that it was the lasting solution we have been waiting for. Looking at the quality of work being done there, especially the thickness of the road, even a layman will know that our prayer has been answered. What they are doing is what ought to have been done long ago. But out of negligence, successive governments abandoned the all-important road to rot away. Thank God that the government just woke up. But it is never too late,” Chidi said.
A resident at Festac Extension, Mr. Odogwu Ibe, said he was, on many occasions, forced to trek from Cele Bus Stop to Mile Two when there were complete lockdowns.
Said he: “Those were the days that tankers and trailers would block all the lanes, including the service lane on Iyana Cele inward Mile Two. One could not even look at the median, because of the huge refuse that had taken over the stretch from Mile Two Bus Stop to Coconut Bus Stop.
“I was already planning to relocate my family from this axis before the government intervention came. There have been patches on the road in the past but this is very different from others. With this, we can go to sleep for decades to come.
“But the only problem people around here are facing now is the stress of going through the inner roads between Oshodi and Mile Two. It will be better if they can reduce the completion period to June/July instead of the proposed December.”
A journalist with a national newspaper in Isolo, along Oshodi-Apapa Expressway, Dare Olumide, said the road being constructed would stand the test of time. But he also called on government to ensure that the contractors work harder so that the road could be delivered earlier than planned.
“Anytime I go to the Mile Two area, it is always a sad experience for me. Trucks are the kings of the road. We are all happy about the reconstruction. Government should review the completion date because of the economic importance of the road,” he said.
Motorists and other users of the road will have to wait some more for the completion of the Apapa-Oshodi-Oworonsoki-Ojota highway. The Federal Government, through the Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Raji Fashola, has said that the road would be completed before the end of the year.
That notwithstanding, many residents have said that some months of waiting for the reconstruction to be completed could be endured so long as a permanent solution was in sight.
In the same vein, there has been traffic lockdown in the Iganmu area of Lagos over the years.
Inspecting the highway recently, Mr. Fashola, reassured users of the road that their predicament would be over by the end of 2020 when the road would have been completed.
Fashola, who inspected the project alongside the president of the Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, said the Federal Government was committed to ensuring a speedy completion of the highway to provide a lasting solution to the problems of bad roads and gridlock. He added that the road reconstruction was creating thousands of direct and indirect jobs at the same time.
“Businesses have started coming back on Liverpool Road because the road closed earlier is now back. You will see more of that. All of the businesses that are shut on Creek Road will come back. We expect to see property redevelopment and property renewal once the road is completed.
“Once the economy of Apapa returns, all the clearing and forwarding, shipping, newspaper companies and all others doing business will resume fully and the economy will bounce back,’’ the minister said.
He commended the private-public partnership scheme with Dangote, which is expected to execute road construction from the Nigerian Ports Authority through various areas to the old Toll Gate at Ojota.
Fashola said: “We expect that, by end of 2020, the entire road network will be finished. You will have a road that will last for 40 years.’’
Dangote lamented that the congestion at the ports, caused by gridlock, had resulted in his group losing about N25 billion in accruable revenue between 2017 and 2019. He lauded the quality of work taking place on the road, saying the development was reviving commerce in the Apapa area.
“This road will actually open up the economy. It will bring a lot of jobs and a lot of factories that have moved out will be able to move back. What I can also assure you is that this road will be finished before the end of next year.’’
While commending the cooperation of Apapa residents, he noted that the development was responsible for the progress of the reconstruction. He said that the N72.9 billion project would have 10 lanes, stretching from Apapa to the Toll Gate at Ojota.