11 Adults, Two Children Killed In Multiple Vehicle Crash On Lagos-Ibadan Expressway

Thirteen persons have been killed in a crash along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway with 10 others injured.

The Ogun State Command of the Federal Road Safety Corps confirmed the deaths and the crash which occurred around Sapade near Ogere area of the state.

According to the Public Education Officer of the command, Florence Okpe, the crash occurred around 7 pm in the area where a diversion was created by a construction company currently working on the stretch of the road in the area.

“The fatal crash involved a total of 37 people comprising 20 male adults, 15 female adults, and two female children,” she said

“The people injured in the crash were 10, comprising four male adults and six female adults.

Four male adults, seven female adults and two female children made up the thirteen who lost their lives.

The incident involved three vehicles – truck heading towards the Lagos axis of the expressway and two buses.

Okpe said the truck (a Man diesel truck with registration number KAB 97 XA)
which was speeding suffered a tyre burst and in the process collided head-on with two other speeding commuter buses heading towards the Ibadan axis of the expressway.

The buses involved were yellow MAZDA bus with registration number KTU93XW and a white Toyota bus with registration number KEY 847 XA.

The Sector Commander, FRSC Ogun State Command, Clement Oladele, has expressed deep shock over the incident and commiserated with relations of the crash victims, the statement said.

Relations of the crash victims are to contact the FRSC Command in Ogere or the Victory Hospital, Ogere, where the crashed victims were taken to for medical treatment.

The corpses of the victims killed at the crash have been deposited at the Ipara Mortuary, Ogun State.

Okpe quoted the FRSC Sector Commander as saying that the incident would have been avoided if motorists who are driving along diversion areas and construction zones, observe the maximum speed limit of 50 kilometers per hour and avoid overtaking till clearly out of diversion areas to avoid a head-on collision.

Lagos-Ibadan Expressway: See The Reconstruction, Rehabilitation And Expansion of Nigeria's Busiest Road

The Lagos-Ibadan is one of the busiest roads ever in Nigeria, its the road that links Lagos, Oyo and Ogun States together. Thousands of vehicles from cars, trucks, bikes and other forms of transportation make use of this road to get to their various destination, most times, inter-state transportation.

The Lagos–Ibadan Expressway is a 127.6-kilometre-long (79.3 mi) expressway connecting Ibadan, the capital of Oyo State and Lagos, Nigeria's largest city. It is also the major route to the northern, southern and eastern parts of Nigeria. The expressway is the oldest in Nigeria, commissioned in August 1978 during the Military era, under the administration of Major-General Olusegun Obasanjo.

The Lagos-Ibadan Expressway was closed partially for full rehabilitation work on 2nd September 2019 and so far, it has been hectic for those who use the road regularly. For example, yesterday was a total standstill as the road was completely under locked down.

The reconstruction of the expressway was flagged off on July 2013 by Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, the immediate past President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, to help reduce the travel time of hundreds of thousands of commuters and international air passengers. The contract was awarded to Julius Berger Nigeria and Reynolds Construction Company Limited at a sum of 167 billion Naira, equivalent to $838,986,290. Two sections of the expressway will be reconstructed and this includes Section I (Lagos to Sagamu Interchange) and section II (Sagamu Interchange to Ibadan).

AutoReportNG monitored the ongoing rehabilitation and expansion which is currently ongoing at the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway and we noticed that Julius Berger is trying to finish up before the proposed date (Dec 2019). According to the images at our disposal, the U-drainage system and other forms of construction are ongoing at the site.

On 2nd Sept. 2019, the traffic advisory by the Ogun State Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Corps (TRACE) on Sunday, motorists were advised to make use of alternative routes.

The alternative routes listed by the spokesman of TRACE, Babatunde Akinbiyi, are Iyana Ipaja/Ota/Ifo/Abeokuta/Sagamu-Benin Ore expressway; Victoria Island/Lekki/Epe/Ijebu-Ode-Benin/Ore expressway or the Ikorodu/ Itoikin/ Ijebu-Ode-Benin/Ore expressway.

Akinbiyi said: “In view of the imminent closure of inbound Lagos traffic along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway for reconstruction and rehabilitation work on the 600km stretch of the corridor to be carried out from Berger (New Garage Bus Stop) – Ogun River (Kara Bridge), scheduled for Monday, 2nd September-Sunday, 15th December, 2019, the the general public, particularly the motoring public, is hereby apprised of the need to plan their journey, add more time to their travelling
time and take necessary precaution.

“From Monday, 2nd September 2019, inbound traffic (movement) from Kara Bridge to Berger would be sealed off and diverted into the same carriageway along the expressway conveying traffic outbound Lagos, thereby making both inbound and outbound traffic to be accommodated on
the same section of the expressway.

See The Ongoing Construction Of The Kara Bridge-Berger Of The Lagos-Ibadan Expressway - Photos

Since the closure of the Kara bridge that leads to the ever-busy of Lagos-Ibadan Express road, little has been heard or seen about the progress of the road especially those who ply the road regularly have no clue.

According to reports, the construction of U-Drains and Earthworks are currently ongoing at the Km 5 of the Kara Bridge along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway. This is part of its rehabilitation, reconstruction and expansion of the road.

The construction was being handled by Julius Berger Nig PLC and it is expected to be completed before December.

It will be recalled that On September 2, 2019, the partial closure of the Lagos-Ibadan expressway commenced. The closure became necessary in order for construction work to be carried out in some sections of the expressway.

The construction work would include the expansion of the expressway, construction of underpasses, footbridges, flyovers, toll plazas, etc. According to the Federal Ministry of Works, the reconstruction become necessary so that the road will be free before Christmas and New Year.

These are photos of the construction of the Kara Bridge of the  Lagos-Ibadan expressway