Key points

• A 40-foot container truck with no registration number developed a mechanical fault and rammed into six vehicles at Kara Bridge early Tuesday, with no deaths or injuries recorded.
• Motorists driving against traffic to escape the jam blocked three of four Lagos-bound lanes, creating a second bottleneck at OPIC.
• Fares from Iyana-Oworo to Berger jumped to N2,000 from about N500 to N700, while ongoing Kara Bridge repairs had already narrowed the road.

Motorists and commuters on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway spent more than 14 hours in gridlock on Tuesday after a seven-vehicle crash at the Kara Bridge compounded ongoing repair works on the busy corridor.

The crash happened in the early hours of the day and initially blocked traffic heading toward Ogun State. However, the congestion soon spread backward past the Long Bridge toward Magboro and into Lagos.

By 7 p.m., the tailback had reached Iyana-Oworo, with slow movement on the Third Mainland Bridge.

According to the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, its Tiger Squad stationed at C3 was dispatched at 6:05 a.m. following a distress call.

LASEMA Permanent Secretary Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu said the vehicles involved were a 40-foot container truck without a registration number, a Toyota Hilux, an interstate bus, a Hyundai Odyssey, a Sienna, a Toyota Highlander and a Mitsubishi Hilux.

Preliminary investigation showed the container truck developed a mechanical fault while moving, causing the driver to lose control and ram into the other six vehicles, he said. Fortunately, nobody died or suffered injuries.

One-way driving creates a second jam

LASEMA coordinated the response with the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority and the police, and private towing trucks eventually cleared all seven vehicles to the roadside. Even so, the damage to traffic flow was already done.

Before the wreckage was removed, impatient motorists began driving against traffic to escape the standstill. A driver who gave his name as Jude said those one-way vehicles occupied three lanes, leaving only one for traffic heading into Lagos.

Consequently, when the same drivers tried to rejoin the correct carriageway at the OPIC end, they created a fresh obstruction that brought Lagos-bound traffic to a halt.

A traffic official who spoke anonymously blamed that influx for the second wave of gridlock. Meanwhile, another motorist said he entered the traffic around 11 a.m., spent more than five hours stuck and missed an appointment.

LASTMA spokesperson Adebayo Taofiq later said a second accident in the Kara axis in the evening worsened the situation further, and officers remained on the road into the night.

Fares triple as repairs narrow the road

The prolonged jam handed transporters an opening to raise prices. Commuters traveling from Iyana-Oworo to Berger paid N2,000 instead of the usual N500 to N700, while the fare from Iyana-Oworo to Mowe rose to N3,000 from N1,200.

The crash struck a corridor already under strain. Repair works on damaged expansion joints at the Kara Bridge have reduced available road space, and motorists had faced hours of delays even before Tuesday.

As a result, the route has become especially vulnerable whenever a crash, breakdown or obstruction occurs.

Babatunde Akinbiyi, spokesperson for the Ogun State Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Agency, confirmed the crash had compounded the situation and said officials were managing it, adding that driver impatience contributed to the gridlock.