The Corps Marshal, Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Boboye Oyeyemi on Wednesday said about 200 personnel have been deployed to Apapa to ease gridlocks caused by articulated vehicles in the area.
The development is coming barely a week after the Chairman, Seaport Terminal Operators Association of Nigeria (STOAN), Princess Vicky Haastrup urged the Federal Government to deploy traffic officials in large number to ensure continuous flow of traffic in Apapa while repair of the Ijora-Wharf road lasts.
Princess Hasstrup had warned that failure to deploy traffic officials in large number to manage traffic in the port city could lead to the return of vessel queue and port congestion.
But during an on-the-spot inspection of the Ijora-Wharf road on Wednesday, the FRSC Coprs Marshal said government was working tirelessly to put the road in the good condition before the end of 2017.
He said palliative measures were also being taken to open drains and fill up some flooded areas in Apapa to ease movement.
”This development will ease vehicular movement from the Marine bridge to Nigeria Port Authority which is about 13 Kilometers.
“The contractor is working but we need to really ensure the traffic is moving, we have worked it out with the commanding officers here to deploy about 200 personnel to ensure the traffic is moving in Apapa,” he said.
Oyeyemi said that the effort was about proper traffic management, adding that privately owned cranes were on standby as well as the FRSC’s trucks in case of any broken down vehicle.
He advised the road users to bear with the government as well as appreciate government’s efforts in the major rehabilitation of the road to ease movement from the ports.
The FRSC boss said that the road would be ready before the end of the year and appealed to road users to obey traffic rules and instructions of the personnel on the road.
The General Manager, Western Ports of Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Abiodun Gbadamosi, said while addressing the FRSC team in his office that the agency was passionate to find lasting solutions to Apapa gridlocks.
“There is need for synergy among the government agencies to find a lasting solutions to gridlocks in the Apapa area.
“The construction of Wharf road has started, we on the part of NPA will be making some operational adjustment and along the line, traffic management will be very important.
”In this regards, FRSC will be important to ensure free flow of traffic,” he said.
Gbadamosi said that about six holding bays would soon be created in Apapa for trucks and articulated vehicles to park before loading to ease the gridlock.
Copyright Ships & Ports Ltd. Permission to use quotations from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit given to www.shipsandports.com.ng as the source.