Eleven years is so long a time to be expectant. But that is exactly how long it has taken Nigerians who travel frequently on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway to have longed for an alternative route to and fro their destinations.
Until few months ago when the ongoing expansion works began on the road which has over the years acquired the infamous reputation as expressway of death and anguish, traveling along the 127.6 km was not without trepidation for most motorists.
Wreckages of vehicles which dotted both sides of the road remained sad reminders of horrifying statistic of lives that had been lost on the road. Closely related to this is incalculable man hour many travelers along the road had lost due to frequent gridlocks that often accompanied crashes along the road.
But motorists plying the road can now heave a sigh of relief as the federal government, in addition to the ongoing rehabilitation of the expressway has equally commenced the construction of the long awaited Lagos-Ibadan railway project. The project, many analysts believe, is the major step towards easing the pains of motorists shuttling between the two states.
A long wait to fulfillment
As strategic as this project is, passengers have had to endure 11 agonizing years to witness the commencement of the Lagos-Ibadan railway project which is the first phase of a new Lagos -Kano standard gauge line. The entire Lagos-Kano railway contract spanning 2, 733km was first awarded by the administration of President Olusegun Obasanjo in 2006.
The Obasanjo administration however failed to carry on with the project due to what it described as lack of funds. The contract would later be re – awarded to China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation, CCEC by the administration of Goodluck Jonathan in 2012 for its execution in six phases, starting with the Lagos -Ibadan stretch.
But the project suffered the same fate until last September when the current administration entered into a new partnership deal with the Chinese government on the contract.
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