The Federal Government on Sunday reopened the entire Kara Bridge inbound and outbound sections on Lagos-Ibadan Expressway to traffic after completing reconstruction works on the bridge.
The site preparation toward the total reopening began on Saturday with a final inspection of the project by the Minister of Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola.
When visited the site on Sunday, a heavy deployment of Federal Roads Safety Corps (FRSC) officials were noticed, to give support to construction workers removing diversion barriers.
The workmen removed demarcations on various sections of the 600 metres outbound Lagos carriageway where traffic was diverted between Kara Bridge and the Isheri Junction intersection.
All debris and construction materials were cleaned up, before FRSC at exactly 1:40 p.m. led a motorcade that led motorists outbound Lagos into the newly completed 600 metres stretch.
Motorists inbound Lagos felt eased as gridlock on the lane disappeared immediately as each lane totalling 1.2km was opened to traffic without merging at any point.
Some elated road users praised the Federal Government and the contractors of the project.
They, however, called for speedy completion of the entire Lagos Ibadan Expressway corridor.
Mrs Sadia Aturu, a resident of Magboro said that the opening of the Kara Bridge would remove all the hardships and avoidable accidents on the highway.
“Last week my husband slept on this road. He could not get home because there was an accident.
“We thank the government for this work but they should do more because we are really suffering on this road,” she said.
A commercial motorcycle operator, Mr Nura Yahaya, lauded the construction which he noted would reduce the congestion that made passengers patronised commercial motorcyclists on the highway.
Malam Ibrahim Kasimu-Zaria, a perishable foodstuffs dealer, praised the Federal Government for the repair, saying that “goods can now arrive Lagos on time’’.
He, however, appealed for speedy completion of other sections on the highway to boost commercial activities and reduce travel time.
The diversion of traffic on the first section began with the partial closure of the inbound Lagos portion on the Kara Bridge on Sept. 2, 2019.
On Dec. 1, 2019, construction on the inbound Lagos was completed but work on the outbound Lagos was suspended due to the Yuletide, hence, the opening of the entire highway to traffic.
Work resumed on Jan. 14, 2020. with the partial closure of the outbound Lagos portion on the Kara Bridge, resulting in another traffic diversion which compounded gridlock on the axis.
However, the construction of the portion was completed on Saturday leading to site preparation toward the total reopening of both the 600 metres outbound and 600 metres inbound carriageways.
