Kara Bridge Has Turned The Lagos-Ibadan Expressway Into A Parking Lot — Here’s Your Escape Route

If you’ve been stuck on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway lately wondering whether you’ll make it home before your phone battery dies, it’s not just you — it’s Kara Bridge.

Repair work on the bridge’s damaged expansion joints kicked off on September 8 and is scheduled to wrap up by September 22, but a container truck that fell on September 17 turned an already painful situation into a full-blown gridlock. Adding insult to injury, some motorists have been driving against traffic to dodge the queue — which, unsurprisingly, is making things worse for everyone else.

Lagos State has deployed extra traffic officers and is coordinating with LASTMA, police commands in Lagos and Ogun, and Ogun’s traffic enforcement corps to manage the chaos. The Permanent Secretary of the Transportation Ministry says the rehabilitation is necessary to preserve the bridge’s long-term safety, while LASTMA’s General Manager is begging motorists for patience and asking them to stop driving against traffic.

If you’re planning a trip, here are your detours: Ikorodu Garage–Ogijo–Sagamu via Lotto, the Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway if you’re headed into Lagos, or Ikorodu–Ijebu-Ode for that axis. There’s also an emergency traffic line — 3367 — for anyone who gets truly stuck.

Source: Federal Ministry of Information and National Orientation.