Commuters on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway endured a day of severe paralysis on Monday, as a major traffic gridlock brought movement to a near standstill across both directions of the highway for several hours. The chaos was triggered by a serious collision near the New Garage axis, resulting in vehicles catching fire and completely obstructing the crucial interstate artery.
The massive logjam created a nightmare scenario for thousands of motorists. Those traveling out of Lagos were trapped in an extensive tailback that stretched from the Alausa corridor, past the Fatgbems/OPIC roundabout, and extended well towards the Mowe area. Similarly, traffic heading into the city experienced equal difficulty, with congestion building up from the Long Bridge area and snaking back to the same central choke point.
The root cause of the crippling congestion was a collision involving two vehicles near the New Garage axis. Following the crash, both vehicles reportedly caught fire and were completely razed. The resulting burnt-out wreckage created a major obstruction across the carriageway, compounding the already high volume of Monday morning traffic and bringing vehicular movement to a standstill for the majority of the day.
Emergency services and traffic management officials faced a formidable task in battling the resultant fire and then clearing the wreckage, with the incident highlighting the extreme fragility of traffic flow on one of Nigeria’s busiest expressways. The enduring gridlock left commuters stranded for hours, emphasizing the urgent need for swift accident response protocols to mitigate massive disruptions on major highways.
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