- Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has urged residents outside Victoria Island to avoid unnecessary travel due to severe traffic caused by the Independence Bridge closure
- The bridge, closed for essential repairs until May 2025, has led to gridlock, prompting the governor to advise remote work and adjusted travel times
- The state government is considering alternative traffic solutions, including a possible counterflow system, while LASTMA intensifies efforts to manage congestion
Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has appealed to residents outside Victoria Island to avoid non-essential travel to the area, following the closure of the Independence Bridge for repairs.
The governor made this call on Thursday while addressing reporters on the severe congestion caused by the ongoing maintenance work.
Heavy traffic hit Lagos as govt closes bridge
The federal government had earlier announced that the bridge, which connects Victoria Island to Marina, would be closed until the end of May 2025 for critical rehabilitation.
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The closure has led to heavy traffic buildup on major roads across the city, with commuters facing prolonged delays.
Reacting to complaints over the worsening gridlock, Sanwo-Olu urged residents to reconsider their movement patterns, suggesting remote work and virtual meetings as alternatives.
“If you don’t have a business to do in Victoria Island in the next two to three weeks, conduct your business via social media, telephone, online meetings, and plan ahead so that if you don’t need to come and visit somebody here, please, you don’t have to come,” he advised.
To further mitigate the situation, the governor encouraged Lagosians to stagger their travel times to reduce congestion during peak hours.
“If you don’t have a meeting that needs your physical presence, think out of the box. If you don’t need to come out at 7 o’clock, wait till 10 o’clock, let the people that need to come out at 7 and 10 o’clock come out, you defer your time, two, three hours,” he said.
Sanwo-Olu proposes counterflow route
Drawing a parallel to movement restrictions enforced during the COVID-19 pandemic, Sanwo-Olu stressed the importance of strategic planning to ease the burden on the city's road network.
He also hinted at potential interventions, including creating a counterflow route to alleviate the pressure on affected roads.
“We’re also thinking of another alternative. Can we do a counterflow from here? We’re looking at that, but it also needs a lot of excavation; we’re going to break a lot of things, and we don’t know if that also will be fully effective.
But we’ll consider that in the next one or two days and see the effect of counterflow, using all of the traffic information that we currently have,” he explained.
In response to the situation, the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) has been directed to deploy additional personnel to key congestion points. The governor assured residents that efforts were being intensified to minimize disruptions.
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“We’re calling them from other parts of the city so that they can make a presence here. And like what we did in November and December, they’ll work till very late at night,” Sanwo-Olu stated.
As commuters continue to navigate the challenges posed by the bridge closure, the state government is expected to explore further measures to improve traffic flow and lessen the impact on residents.
Tinubu's minister orders immediate reopening of Lagos bridge
In a similar report, traffic congestion in Lagos has prompted an urgent decision from the Federal Government regarding the Independence Bridge on Victoria Island.
Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, has ordered the immediate reopening of the bridge to alleviate the gridlock that has paralyzed movement in the Ikoyi area.
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