Kara Bridge Repairs Trigger Massive Gridlock On Lagos-Ibadan Expressway

Motorists plying the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway were stranded for several hours on Tuesday as repair works on the damaged expansion joints of the Kara Bridge triggered a massive gridlock along the busy corridor. Traffic, which began building up in the afternoon, stretched from the Kara Bridge in Ogun State to the 7Up Junction in Lagos State, extending beyond the Secretariat Bus Stop by 3:30pm, while motorists from Ikeja and Agege attempting to access the Otedola underpass were also caught up in congestion reaching Otunba Jobi Fele Way.

A heavy presence of joint security and traffic personnel,police, military, LASTMA, FRSC and the Ogun State Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Corps (TRACE) worked to alternate vehicles between Isheri/Ojodu and the expressway to prevent a total lockdown, though repair works at the bridge’s entry and exit points inward OPIC briefly worsened congestion. Motorists described the situation as unbearable, with commuter Tunji Kazeem noting he had been stuck since 1pm with no alternative route to Mowe, while others, including Jelili and Kunle Bankole, called on government to find a permanent solution to the recurring gridlock on the corridor.

TRACE spokesperson Babatunde Akinbiyi urged motorists to exercise patience, saying the agency had anticipated the disruption and issued a traffic advisory ahead of the repairs, advising those without essential business on the axis to stay away. The Federal Government had announced a two-week replacement of expansion joints on the Kara-Berger Bridge section, which began on Tuesday, September 8, 2026, and is expected to run until September 22, 2026, under a directive from the Minister of Works aimed at improving road safety and preserving the bridge’s structural integrity.