By Demilade Adeniyi
Some roads in Mushin and Oyingbo areas of Lagos State would be closed for at least one month beginning from Saturday, May 27, 2023, to accelerate the delivery of the Red Line of the Lagos Rail Mass Transit Project.
A statement issued by the Permanent Secretary Ministry of Transportation Engr Hafiz Toriola said the roads, would remain closed till Friday, June 30, 2023 to ensure the contractor do a thorough to that axis of the project.
He said government would completely close the Murtala Muhammed Way and Apapa Road in the Oyingbo area, while the Kayode and Ogunmokun Streets in the Mushin areas would also be affected to ensure the completion of the flyover bridge coming up in the area.
Toriola said traffic on Murtala Muhammed Way will be diverted from Abeokuta Street to link Borno Way, through Coasts Street and back to Murtala Muhammed Way, while alternatively, Cemetery Street will be open to traffic from Abeokuta Street.
Also in the Mushin area of the state, traffic would be diverted on Ago-Owu Street on Kayode Street and Ijaiye Street on Ogunmokun Street for the construction of the Mushin Flyover Bridge.
Toriola said traffic on Kayode Street will be diverted through Jibowu to link Lagos/Abeokuta Expressway to access Ogunmokun Street, while traffic on Ogunmokun Street will be diverted to Lagos/Abeokuta Expressway, Ilupeju Bypass to access Ikorodu Road.
While enjoining motorists to cooperate with traffic personnel to minimise inconveniences, he said LASTMA officials will be deployed to the affected areas to manage traffic flow.
Recall that the Lagos State Governor has assured citizens that the Blue and the Red Lines which were the two components of the Lagos Rail Mass Transit Project would be ready for commissioning before handover on May 29, 2023.
While test run started on the Blue Line since February 15, and has continued to carry willing citizens who wanted to enjoy it between the iconic Marina Interchange to Mile 2, it is not yet clear when the Red Line, for which three Talgo trains have been purchased from Wisconsin, United States, would be completed and test run would commence on the corridor.
The Blue and Red Lines when completed are expected to be a game changer for the Lagos State Government, as the first phase of both projects are supposed to carry about 500,000 apiece, and about 1.5 million passengers each, when work is completed and the two phases of both projects are delivered.
While the first phase of the Blue Light Rail, which is Electric Multiple Unit (EMU) i.e. electric propelled engine is between Marina -Mile 2, the second phase the contract of which was signed between the Lagos State Government and Messrs China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) Nigeria, will take the project from Mile 2 to Okokomaiko.
The first phase of the Red Line on the other hand shares same corridor with the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), and it began from Agbado, in Ogun State to Oyingbo. The second phase is expected to take-off from Oyingbo through Iddo to Marina to join the Blue Line at the Marina Interchange. It is a Diesel Multiple Unit (DMU) propelled locomotive engine train.