The Federal Government has given motorists and other road users on the Lagos section of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway two weeks to comply with safety regulations or face a shutdown of the route.
The Federal Controller of Works in Lagos State, Olufemi Dare, issued the ultimatum on Monday during an inspection of the highway, citing reckless driving, vandalism, illegal parking and other activities that have increasingly threatened safety and ongoing construction works.
Dare said the directive followed concerns raised by the Minister of Works, David Umahi, over persistent violations along the highway.
“Within two weeks, if there’s no improvement on all these issues, then we have no option than to come back and shut down this road,” Dare said.
The warning comes as the Federal Government grapples with the challenge of managing traffic on a highway that has been opened to motorists even though significant construction work, particularly bridge construction, is still ongoing.
According to The Punch, Dare explained that the Lagos section stretches approximately 103 kilometres and is divided into two sections: about 47 kilometres from the end of Ahodubule to Eleko Junction and another 56 kilometres from Eleko Junction to Odo-Ome at the Lagos-Ogun boundary.
The two sections contain 20 major bridges, with several still under construction, making strict compliance with traffic and safety regulations particularly important.
One of the Federal Government’s major concerns is excessive speeding.
According to Dare, the approved speed limit on the coastal highway is 30 kilometres per hour because construction activities are still taking place along the route.
He, however, said some motorists had been driving at speeds of up to 100km/h and 120km/h.
“People who come to coastal road and get to a speed of 120 kilometres per hour on the coastal road, and where constructions are going on, bridges, construction are going on,” he said.
“We have said your speed on the coastal road must not be more than 30 kilometres per hour.”
Dare said the government was particularly concerned about reports of fatalities along the highway, stressing that it could no longer allow road users to disregard safety measures.
The highway has also become a target for activities that authorities say are compromising both security and the integrity of the infrastructure.
Dare disclosed that approximately five kilometres of ClearVu fencing had been removed, while concrete covers covering about 18 kilometres had reportedly been vandalised and taken away.
He said the vandalism was often carried out at night and had created additional security risks along the route.
“They come in the night, they remove the ClearVu fence that was used to barricade the communities from the coastal highway,” Dare said.
The government is considering replacing vulnerable sections of the steel fencing with concrete barriers, which officials believe would be more difficult to remove.
He said plans were also underway to deploy closed-circuit television cameras along the highway to strengthen surveillance.
The Federal Government has simultaneously moved to prohibit truck and trailer parking, illegal U-turns, hawking, animal grazing, commercial motorcycles and tricycles along the route. Authorities also plan to remove shanties and other illegal structures identified along the corridor.
Dare warned that articulated vehicles found parked on the highway would be dealt with, while people creating or using unauthorised U-turns could face prosecution.
