FG threatens to shut Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway in two weeks

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The Federal Government has threatened to shut the Lagos section of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway within two weeks if motorists and other road users fail to comply with safety measures and conditions along the route do not improve.

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The Federal Controller of Works in Lagos State, Olufemi Dare, issued the warning on Monday while addressing journalists during an inspection tour of the highway.

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Dare said the decision followed a directive from the Minister of Works, David Umahi, amid persistent safety breaches, vandalism and other illegal activities along the road.

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He said, “Within two weeks, if there’s no improvement on all these issues, then we have no option than to come back and shutdown this road.”

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The controller said the government had an alternative in the Lekki-Epe Expressway, adding that the coastal highway was still under construction and should ordinarily not have been opened to traffic before the completion of its bridges.

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The Lagos section of the coastal highway comprises two sections spanning about 103km, with Section 1 covering about 47km and Section 2 extending for about 56km.

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Dare said there were 20 major bridges across the two sections in Lagos, with 10 in each section, several of which were still under construction.

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He expressed concern over motorists driving at high speeds on a road where construction work was ongoing, despite the prescribed speed limit of 30km per hour.

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“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.

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“We have said your speed on the coastal road must not be more than 30 kilometres per hour.”

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Dare said lives were being lost on the highway “almost every other day”, warning that the government could no longer allow the situation to continue.

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The controller also warned articulated vehicle operators against parking along the highway, saying some trucks and trailers were being used as temporary parking spaces by drivers.

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He said the government had reached an agreement with the Lagos State Police Command to increase police deployment along the highway.

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According to Dare, the increased security presence followed meetings between Umahi and the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Fatai Tijani.

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“Beginning from this morning, we’ve started to see the improvement in deployment of police. And we are going to have more,” he said.

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Dare also warned against illegal U-turns created along the highway, saying anyone arrested for the offence would be prosecuted.

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He said Okada motorcycles, tricycles, hawking and animal grazing had also been banned along the highway.

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“We don’t want Okada motorcycles, tricycles. We don’t want them on the coastal road,” he said.

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He added that authorities would also move against people living in shanties and other illegal structures along the highway.

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Dare identified vandalism of safety infrastructure as another major challenge, saying sections of the protective fencing and other installations were being removed at night.

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He said at least five kilometres of ClearVu fencing had been removed, while about 18km of concrete covers had also been vandalised and taken away.

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“They come in the night, they remove the ClearVu fence that was used to barricade the communities from the coastal highway,” he said.

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Dare said the government was considering replacing the steel ClearVu fencing with concrete barriers in vulnerable areas because the existing fencing could be easily removed by vandals.

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“We have to change the strategy,” he said. “In areas where we have block work today, we do not have any problem with them.”

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He added that the government was also working on the deployment of CCTV cameras to improve surveillance along the route.

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The controller said the government had approved the recruitment of 40 members of a coastal guard for the first section of the highway, with four expected to be drawn from each community along the route.

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According to him, the guards would work directly with the police and provide community-level surveillance, while additional personnel would be recruited for Section 2.

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Dare said some previously engaged coastal guards had been attacked by vandals, making stronger police protection necessary.

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He added that authorities were planning to reorganise and train the coastal guards under the direct supervision of the Lagos State Police Command.

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