VIDEO: MULTIPLE ACCIDENTS HIT KARA BRIDGE AMID ONGOING REPAIRS
Read Time:3 Minute, 19 Second
By: Fasasi Hammad
Multiple road accidents have been reported around Kara Bridge on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway amid ongoing rehabilitation work on the busy corridor, worsening traffic congestion and disrupting movement between Lagos and Ogun State.
The incidents were recorded at different points between late Monday and Tuesday, September 15, as motorists continued to navigate reduced road capacity caused by the ongoing repair of the bridge.
One of the crashes reported early Monday around the Kara area involved three vehicles and resulted in seven deaths and two injuries, according to reports.
On Tuesday morning, another major crash occurred at the exit of Kara Bridge involving a 40-foot container-laden truck. The truck reportedly suffered a mechanical or brake failure, lost control and rammed into demarcation blocks and other vehicles.
The Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) said seven vehicles were involved in the morning crash, including the container truck, a Toyota Hilux, an interstate bus, a Hyundai Odyssey, a Sienna, a Toyota Highlander and a Mitsubishi Hilux.
LASEMA said its LRT Tiger Squad responded to the incident after receiving a distress call at about 6:05 a.m. The emergency team worked with the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) and the Nigeria Police Force to secure the scene, control traffic and prevent further incidents.
The affected vehicles were subsequently removed from the carriageway with the assistance of private towing trucks. LASEMA reported that no death or injury was recorded in that particular crash and that traffic flow was restored after the vehicles were evacuated.
A separate crash was also reported on Tuesday along Kara Bridge inward Mowe, where a loaded trailer reportedly collided with an SUV. LASTMA personnel and police officers were deployed to the scene as recovery operations got underway.
Later on Tuesday afternoon, another 40-foot containerised truck was involved in a lone crash on Kara Bridge, inward Mowe, near ENYO Filling Station and around the bridge’s expansion joint.
LASTMA said the truck suffered brake failure, while three people were injured in the incident. The injured persons were taken to an emergency centre for medical attention. The carriageway inward OPIC was temporarily cordoned off, with counterflow measures introduced to manage traffic.
The series of crashes came as the Federal Government continued rehabilitation work on Kara Bridge. The two-week project, which began on September 8, involves the replacement of damaged expansion joints and is scheduled to run until September 22.
The repair work has reduced the number of available lanes and already caused significant traffic congestion along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway. The Tuesday afternoon container-truck crash further compounded the situation, with the outward-Lagos carriageway temporarily closed and traffic reportedly backing up beyond the Berger area.
Authorities subsequently began working to create an alternative passage by removing barriers from a section of the bridge that had previously been closed for the rehabilitation work. LASTMA officials and their counterparts from Ogun State were deployed to manage traffic and assist with restoring movement.
The recurring accidents and traffic disruptions have affected motorists travelling through Kara, Berger, OPIC, Mowe and other parts of the Lagos-Ibadan corridor.
The incidents have also renewed concerns about the risks posed by heavy-duty vehicles on a busy highway where ongoing construction has reduced available road space. In the Tuesday morning crash, LASEMA urged motorists, particularly operators of articulated vehicles, to ensure regular vehicle maintenance, comply with roadworthiness requirements and exercise caution on major highways.
Motorists using the corridor are advised to exercise caution and patience while traffic management officials and emergency responders continue recovery and traffic-control operations.
Authorities have continued to monitor the affected sections as efforts are made to clear obstructions and minimise the impact of the rehabilitation work on traffic movement.
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