Many travellers were stranded for several hours on Monday at Gidan Busa, shortly before Katari, along the Kaduna-Abuja highway, following multiple accidents involving articulated vehicles.
The gridlock stretched for several kilometres, leaving motorists, passengers and goods stranded under the scorching sun, as travellers missed appointments, business engagements and scheduled deliveries.
Sarah Monday, a fashion designer travelling to Abuja for a contract meeting, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that she missed the appointment because of the prolonged traffic.
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For her, the delay meant more than hours spent on the road; it meant losing an important business opportunity.
She appealed to the Federal Government to expedite the completion of the highway to ease the hardship faced by commuters, particularly during Sallah, Christmas and other festive periods.
Her experience reflected the frustration of many other travellers caught in the gridlock.
The highway, ordinarily a major route linking Kaduna and Abuja, had become a long parking lot, with vehicles stretching as far as the eye could see.
Cattle trucks, lorries loaded with sacks and other goods, fuel tankers, saloon cars and minibuses stood bumper to bumper, leaving motorists with little room to manoeuvre.
With no indication of when traffic would ease, some passengers climbed onto trucks loaded with goods, sitting among sacks with their legs dangling over the sides. Others sat atop cattle trucks, while livestock remained confined behind the metal frames in the afternoon heat.
Along the dusty diversion beside the unfinished concrete carriageway, groups of men in long gowns and caps stood discussing the situation, while some motorists leaned against their vehicles or walked along the queue in frustration.
Others sought shelter beside excavated sections of the road. Near a grey estate car, a motorist lifted the bonnet and inspected its engine, apparently struggling with another problem occasioned by the prolonged delay.
The scene highlighted the contrast between the unfinished highway and the rough diversion motorists had been forced to use. While sections of the concrete carriageway had been laid, other portions remained covered in gravel and red earth.
Abubakar Lawal, a driver caught in the traffic, blamed the gridlock partly on motorists’ impatience, saying the situation had become difficult to control.
He said it was uncertain when the road would be cleared.
Another driver, Yusuf Aliyu, said he would not have embarked on the journey to Abuja had he known the condition of the highway.
For those whose businesses and livelihoods depend on the route, the delay came at a considerable cost, disrupting deliveries, appointments and other activities.
Adewale Usman, a businessman, identified articulated vehicles, particularly trailers, as major contributors to recurring gridlocks on the highway.
He urged the Federal Government to revive the railway system to provide an alternative means of transporting goods over long distances, particularly fuel and other heavy cargo currently conveyed by road.
He said shifting more freight transportation to rail would reduce pressure on the highways and minimise the disruption caused by heavy-duty vehicles.
A road safety official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, also blamed motorists’ impatience for worsening the gridlock, saying the situation could have been avoided if drivers had exercised more caution.
However, he disclosed that accidents involving articulated vehicles were a recurring problem along the route.
According to him, at least 20 accidents involving long vehicles occur on the highway every month, resulting in fatalities and, in some cases, the death of livestock.
The figure underscores the persistent safety challenges on the corridor, where accidents involving heavy vehicles can bring traffic to a standstill for hours, particularly around sections affected by ongoing construction and narrow diversions.
By the time NAN filed the report, some motorists had begun turning back towards Kaduna, while others said they would travel to Abuja through the Kachia-Bwari route to avoid further delays.
For those who remained on the highway, however, there was still no clear indication of when the traffic would move.
For travellers such as Monday, the consequences extended beyond the hours lost on the road. Her missed contract meeting was a reminder of the economic and personal costs of a journey disrupted by an unfinished highway and recurring accidents.
As the festive season approaches, travellers are hoping that the Federal Government will accelerate work on the road and address the safety challenges along the corridor to prevent a repeat of the ordeal.
(NAN)
