Commuting around Lagos can be a nightmare, especially when battling with the twin hassles of traffic and bad roads. This is what residents and commuters plying the Barracks-Volks-Iyana Iba-Agbara-Badagry route endure daily.
The thoughts of commuting alone along the axis leave many frustrated as they grind through the stress of man-hour loss spent in traffic, fatigue and psychological agony the wretched state of the road is having on their livelihood.
When The Guardian last week visited the area, the roads were blocked from Badagry expressway to Iyana Iba market, as a result of huge potholes on the long stretch. Many vehicles bump into each other while heavy-duty trucks breakdown in the middle of the road, compounding the traffic congestion.
A resident of Post-service Housing Estate, Iba, Mrs. Olagunju, said the terrible state of the road has caused a lot of accidents. I just witnessed an accident on my way home involving a motorcyclist and a bus carrying goods. The motorcyclist was severely injured while the goods were scattered on the road, which caused serious traffic.
Mrs. Ngozi Emeka, a trader at Iyana Iba market, lamented that the bad state of the road has affected her business negatively. “Many times vehicles carrying my goods get stuck in traffic and have also been involved in accident.
“On a day there is no incident, they would fall into the hands of policemen at checkpoints who may end up impounding the vehicles. I have experienced more losses than gain because of this deplorable road and it gets worse by the day. Government should hasten the reconstruction of this road so that life will be easy for us,” she said.
A dispatch rider, Mr. Solomon Monday, also lamented, saying he has to fix his bike at least twice a day whenever he plies that route and it sometimes causes delays in the delivery rounds he makes. “If a bike man can be complaining, I wonder what those who drive cars on this road would be going through. They will definitely be dying slowly without knowing, because the stress of the road, especially during peak periods is enough to destabilise one. I have lost hope in government. It is only God that can protect us.”
Some residents also worry about the slow pace of rehabilitation on the road, as they fear the next rainy season meeting the road in its present condition. They urged the government to hasten the reconstruction of the road.
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