FG THREATENS TO SHUT LAGOS-CALABAR COASTAL HIGHWAY IN TWO WEEKS

Read Time:3 Minute, 34 Second

By ‘Sefiu Ajape

The Federal Government has threatened to shut the Lagos section of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway within two weeks if motorists and other road users fail to comply with safety measures and conditions along the route do not improve.

The Federal Controller of Works in Lagos State, Olufemi Dare, issued the warning on Monday while addressing journalists during an inspection tour of the highway.

Dare said the decision followed a directive from the Minister of Works, David Umahi, amid persistent safety breaches, vandalism and other illegal activities along the route.

He said, “Within two weeks, if there’s no improvement on all these issues, then we have no option than to come back and shutdown this road.”

The controller said the government had an alternative in the Lekki-Epe Expressway, adding that the coastal highway remained under construction and should not ordinarily have been opened to traffic before the completion of its bridges.

The Lagos section of the highway comprises two sections spanning about 103km, with Section 1 covering about 47km and Section 2 extending for about 56km.

Dare said there were 20 major bridges across the two sections in Lagos, with 10 in each section, several of which were still under construction.

He expressed concern over motorists driving at high speeds on a road where construction work was ongoing, despite the prescribed speed limit of 30km per hour.

“People who come to coastal road and get to a speed of 120 kilometres per hour on the coastal road, and where constructions are going on, bridges, construction are going on,” he said.

“We have said your speed on the coastal road must not be more than 30 kilometres per hour.”

Dare said lives were being lost on the highway “almost every other day,” warning that the government could no longer allow the situation to continue.

He also warned articulated vehicle operators against parking along the highway, saying some trucks and trailers were being used as temporary parking spaces by drivers.

Dare said the government had reached an agreement with the Lagos State Police Command to increase police deployment along the highway.

According to him, the increased security presence followed meetings between Umahi and the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Fatai Tijani.

“Beginning from this morning, we’ve started to see the improvement in deployment of police. And we are going to have more,” he said.

Dare also warned against illegal U-turns created along the highway, saying anyone arrested for the offence would be prosecuted.

He said Okada motorcycles, tricycles, hawking, and animal grazing had also been banned along the highway.

“We don’t want Okada motorcycles or tricycles. We don’t want them on the coastal road,” he said.

He added that authorities would also move against people living in shanties and other illegal structures along the highway.

Dare identified vandalism of safety infrastructure as another major challenge, saying sections of the protective fencing and other installations were being removed at night.

He said at least five kilometres of ClearVu fencing had been removed, while about 18 km of concrete covers had also been vandalised and taken away.

“They come in the night; they remove the ClearVu fence that was used to barricade the communities from the coastal highway,” he said.

Dare said the government was considering replacing the steel. ClearVu fencing with concrete barriers in vulnerable areas because the existing fencing could be easily removed by vandals.

“We have to change the strategy,” he said. “In areas where we have block work today, we do not have any problem with them.”

He added that the government was also working on deploying CCTV cameras to improve surveillance along the route.

The controller said the government had approved the recruitment of 40 members of a coastal guard for the first section of the highway, with four expected to be drawn from each community along the route.

According to Dare, the guards would work directly with the police and provide community-level surveillance, while additional personnel would be recruited for Section 2.

He said some previously engaged coastal guards had been attacked by vandals, making stronger police protection necessary.

Dare added that authorities were planning to reorganise and train the coastal guards under the direct supervision of the Lagos State Police Command.