Confusion As Motorists, Travellers Get Locked In Abuja-Keffi Expressway #Traffic Congestion
It was a Saturday of confusion and anger for travelers and other commuters on the ever busy Abuja-Keffi Expressway due to an unprecedented traffic congestion on the inter state road.
Findings by The Street Reporters Newspaper showed that the congestion was as a result of an unannounced closure of the Ado Bridge linking One Man Village portion of the Expressway and the Ado – Masaka end of the road in Nasarawa State.
When visited, commuters were seen at the area making fruitless efforts to forcefully reopen the closed bridge to ease the traffic gridlock, which spanned from the Orange Market pedestrian bridge side of the road through One Man village, Ado, New Nyanya, Gwandara and Masaka areas, of the major expressway.
Stranded passengers were initially confused about the cause of the unusual congestion on both sides of the dual carriage way as there was no prior announcement by the Federal Government before the closure of the road.
It was observed that the affected joints of the Ado Bridge were being removed for replacement by some local workers, with one wearing site kits having the inscription of the Chinese Construction Company, CCECC.
According to some of the stranded road users, many of whom were on transit from their respective villages after the Yuletide season, the Federal Government ought to have carried out proper sensitisation of motorists and commuters before the sudden closure of the bridge.
The Street Reporters Newspaper observed that there were no alternative routes provided by the Federal Government to ameliorate the suffering of the road users, who were seen trekking long distances.
Due to the congregation, some motorists were forced to abandoned their vehicles by the roadsides and explored other means of getting their destinations.
The congestion, which began around early afternoon worsened in the evening of Saturday as motorists plying One-way worsened the situation, with tricycle operators, commercial motorcyclists and others meandered the gridlock at the slightest ease of the traffic congestion.
Some travellers, to and from Abuja, remained stranded as at 11pm on Saturday, with commercial motorcyclists in the axis cashing in on the situation to hike their fares as they demanded as high as N1,000 from Ado to Nyanya.
The stranded passengers included breastfeeding mothers, children, among other vulnerable persons.
Several vehicles also broke down along the Expressway as a result of the traffic jam on the road.
The Abuja-Keffi Expressway is the only gateway for motorists traveling through the Expressway to Abuja from states like Nasarawa, Benue, Kaduna, Plateau, Taraba, Gombe, Bauchi, among other northern states.
