Commuters and motorists navigating the Abuja-Kaduna motorway were stuck for many hours yesterday, as a huge congestion caused by potholes crippled traffic on the Katari-Gidan Busa portion of the highway.
The development created huge delays to commuters with hundreds of vehicles reported to be trapped on the damaged part of the main roadway, writes Sunday Trust.
A commuter, Ismaila Yakubu, who talked with our correspondent yesterday said several automobiles were stuck on the road for hours.
“Some cars have been here since 2am because of gridlock. There are Federal Road Safety Corps officers there, but they have no control over it.
“One I spoke to said the cause is a pothole close to a bridge that is causing accidents and affecting the movement of cars. “We have raised the issue of doing palliative work on the section with the contractor, Infiouest Nigeria Limited, but they had failed to do anything about it,” the official said.
“The government should expedite the work on the road to end the suffering people are facing on this road.
The Abuja-Kaduna route has been under construction for the past eight years and motorists and commuters have had to contend with challenges on various stretches of the road.
The Abuja-Kaduna route, while important as a vital link between the Federal Capital Territory and the Northwest, has undergone minimal construction compared to the Kaduna, Zaria and Kano parts.
Heavy volume of traffic on the route, particularly during Sallah festivities, has also contributed to frequent gridlocks, with motorists during the latest celebration reportedly spending days on the road before reaching their destinations.
Commuters continue to suffer from the recurrent gridlocks and the bad state of some portions of the highway with people urging for rapid intervention to fix the route and ease traffic movement.
The government has committed to finish the road by November this year.
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