Travellers stranded, fares hiked as truck blocks Lagos-Ibadan Expressway

Motorists travelling out of Lagos State on Sunday faced hours of delays as they struggled to navigate their routes after an overloaded truck fell and blocked the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.

The lone accident resulted in a massive gridlock, stretching from the pedestrian bridge at Berger Bus Stop to just a few meters in front of the Tribune House along the corridor.

Our correspondent, who went to observe the gridlock, saw stranded passengers disembarking from their vehicles and walking to bypass the blocked section of the expressway.

PUNCH Metro also noted a fare increase from Berger Bus Stop to Mowe, Ibafo, and Arepo, rising from the usual N400 to N1000.

While the FRSC officials worked to tow the fallen truck and restore the free flow of traffic, a stranded commuter told our correspondents that they had spent at least two hours in one spot.

“We have spent two hours on the same spot. There were small movements of vehicles before. But now everything is not moving. The FRSC officials are at the spot of the accident already,” a commuter identified simply as Dozie told our correspondent.

Confirming the incident, the spokesperson for the Ogun State Sector of the Federal Road Safety Corps, Florence Okpe, in a telephone conversation with PUNCH Metro, blamed the accident on overloading and a mechanical fault.

She said, “The vehicle that developed a mechanical fault was overloaded, which led to it falling when the incident happened. If it had not been overloaded, it wouldn’t have fallen. There was no casualty or injury recorded.”

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