Lagos Coastal Highway Faces Closure Over Safety

The Nigerian government has threatened to shut down the Lagos section of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway within two weeks.

National Controller of Works in Lagos State, Olufemi Dare, issued the warning on Monday during an inspection tour. The warning followed repeated safety breaches, vandalism and other illegal activities along the highway.

Dare said the decision followed a directive from Works Minister David Umahi. He warned that the road would be closed if motorists and other users failed to improve their conduct.

“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,” Dare said.

He said the government could use the Lekki-Epe Expressway as an alternative route.

Dare also stressed that the coastal highway is still under construction. According to him, the road should not have been opened to traffic before the completion of its bridges.

The Lagos section covers about 103 kilometres. Section One spans about 47 kilometres, while Section Two covers about 56 kilometres. Both sections have 20 major bridges, with 10 in each section. However, several of the bridges are still under construction.

Dare expressed concern over motorists driving at high speeds on the unfinished road. He said the approved speed limit is 30 kilometres per hour.

“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.”

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

Dare also warned truck and trailer operators against parking along the highway. He said some drivers were using articulated vehicles as temporary parking spaces.

Meanwhile, the government has agreed with the Lagos State Police Command to increase police presence along the highway. Dare said the decision followed meetings between Umahi and Lagos Commissioner of Police, Fatai Tijani.

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

Dare also warned against illegal U-turns along the highway. He said anyone arrested for creating or using illegal U-turns would be prosecuted.

The controller added that Okada motorcycles, tricycles, hawking and animal grazing are banned along the highway.

He also warned that authorities would remove shanties and other illegal structures along the route.

Vandalism of safety infrastructure was another major concern the controller raised. Dare said vandals had been removing protective fencing and other installations at night.

He disclosed that at least five kilometres of ClearVu fencing had been removed.

He added that about 18 kilometres of concrete covers had also been vandalised and taken away.

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

The government is also working on plans to deploy CCTV cameras along the highway. Dare said the government had approved the recruitment of 40 coastal guards for the first section. Four guards are expected to be drawn from each community along the route. He said the guards would work with the police and provide community-level surveillance.

Additional personnel would also be recruited for the second section. Dare said some previously engaged coastal guards had been attacked by vandals. He therefore said stronger police protection was needed.

Authorities are also planning to reorganise and train the coastal guards under the direct supervision of the Lagos State Police Command.