How Travelers Were Stuck at Itobe Bridge, Kogi, for Several Hours (See Video)

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Obiajulu Joel Nwolu

Obiajulu Joel Nwolu is an established writer at africannewstoday.com. He is passionate about African affairs. He loves writing about interesting facts relating to the African continent and enjoys sharing his knowledge with others.

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Travelers who traveled to the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja on Friday were halted by massive traffic jam at the Itobe Bridget, Kogi State, African News Today has gathered.

Motorists and commuters plying the Itobe-Ajaokuta- bridge in Kogi State linking the Eastern part of the country to Abuja were left sweating at the bridge for several hours after a trailer broke down in the middle of the bridge, causing gridlock which started around 4:00 pm.

One of the lanes of the two-lane bridge had been barricaded for repair works since the beginning of the year, leaving motorists with only one lane in the ever-busy highway.

The effect of the breakdown of the trailer in the bridge caused great difficulty to vehicles that plied the road as they had to wait for long period before intervention by individuals and uniformed personnel led to gradual ease of the traffic.

The repair works on the bridge is believed to be part of the Okene-Ajaokuta-Itobe road construction by the Federal Government. Though one section of the dual carriage way has been partly fixed, the road is yet to be opened to road users as motorist maneuver the dusty and untarred single lane.

A passenger identified as Hillary Amadi lamented the amount of time he had to spend on the bridge while urging government to expedite the construction going on in the closed lane.

He said, “I find it perplexing that road users would have to spend more than three hours to pass through a bridge which ordinarily shouldn’t take more than 40 minutes. I have been stranded here for over three hours without knowing the actual cause of the standstill in the movement”.

Commenting on the cause of the gridlock, Charles Osakwe, a motorist who witnessed the incidence said, the delay was informed by the breakdown of a trailer midway through the bridge. It was worsened by the unavailability of a towing van which could have saved the situation.”