Oshodi-Apapa gridlock: Govt gives tanker drivers 72 hours to vacate

Lagos State Government, yesterday, gave the tanker drivers who have constituted traffic nuisance on the Oshodi-Apapa expressway 72 hours to vacate the area.

The government announced that within 72 hours, precisely, Friday, December 20, 2013, it would deploy its traffic machinery to the area, particularly, between Mile 2 and Apapa, to ensure sanity and streamline the activities of tanker drivers and articulated vehicles.
The decision  was made when officials of the state government and the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, NUPENG; Petroleum Tanker Drivers, PTD, and the Association of Maritime Truck Owners, AMATO, met late yesterday evening at the Ministry of Transportation, Alausa Secretariat, Ikeja, on the need to tackle the gridlock that had continued to be a nightmare to motorists and residents in the area.

*Traffic congestion on the Berger axis of Oshodi-Apapa expressway due to reconstruction of the road

Speaking at the end of an emergency meeting, Commissioner for Transportation, Mr. Kayode Opeifa told newsmen that the government was worried by the situation around Oshodi Apapa Expressway, hence, it is determined to address the situation, lamenting that in recent time, the traffic situation had been horrible as a result of the on-going construction of the main carriageway by Julius Berger.

According to him, the construction had led to traffic diversion to the service lane which was initially earmarked for tanker drivers and articulated vehicles to stay to load fuel and gain access to the port, noting that this had made the traffic in the axis unpalatable.