The pedestrian bridge on the expressway close to Alapere Housing Estate, Lagos State, collapsed last December after a truck rammed into it. Four months after the incident, what remains of the bridge are partly demolished pillars.

In March, the state government announced that construction works had begun yet the bridge was never done. This reporter was there on Monday to speak with residents, especially pedestrians, who are now forced to cross to either side of the highway without the safety of the bridge.

Lagos State Government Begins Construction of Damaged Alapere Pedestrian Bridge@jidesanwoolu @drobafemihamzat @gbenga_omo @gboyegaakosile @BSaluHundeyin @LASGWorks @Mr_JAGs #LASG #AGreaterLagosRising pic.twitter.com/4RSVhMJAo9

— The Lagos State Govt (@followlasg) March 4, 2024

When the accident happened, this reporter learned, it wrecked the bridge because about half of it was destroyed. A trader close to the lane leading to Berger, Ibafo and Mowe areas revealed that the government had to clear the rubble and the remaining part of the bridge.

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The trader also mentioned that there had been accidents on the road, where pedestrians got injured while trying to cross from one side to the other.

On the side of the expressway that leads to Victoria Island, Yaba, Oyingbo, Obalende and CMS, this reporter found conductors stopping vehicles for pedestrians to cross.

About six Lagos State Traffic Management Agency (LASTMA) officers were also stationed on this side, and the reporter observed that a few of them helped pedestrians cross the highway by stopping fast-moving vehicles.

However, regardless of this occasional assistance from the LASTMA officers and conductors, whose aim is to get passengers into their waiting buses, many pedestrians, like this reporter, had to use their discretion before crossing. This meant waiting some seconds or minutes until the road was safe to cross.

MENTAL SAFETY

A resident, who does not want to be named, told this reporter that some residents were crossing the highway even when the bridge was still intact. He attributed this to factors like fear of heights and fear of being robbed on the bridges.

For him, crossing the highway when there is help is mentally safer than crossing a bridge with pickpockets lurking in the shadows.

He, however, stressed the need for visible signs on both sides of the highway to caution speeding vehicles to slow down once they near the pedestrian crossing.

“I had to help an old woman cross at some point. But if they put it back, how many people will use it? How often did people cross the bridge when it was there? Not because it’s not important, but because of security and safety, and the psychological effect that people don’t consider is that some people are actually scared of heights,” he told this reporter.

“So, you find that people are scared of heights and are even scared of crossing. You will see someone who would rather take a bus from here to the other side. Funny enough, I think it is mentally safer if someone is there to help you cross, but the painful thing is that it’s an expressway, so you cannot expect the same level of speed as on a regular street, where drivers are calm and slower. With or without the bridge, people will cross and get to their destination.

“Then you also have to ask yourself: what do drivers do on their own to help people? You want to cross, but a driver is already speeding from point A to point B. They don’t even realise they need to slow down once they get to this area.

“There should be signage and announcements from way back for drivers to know when to slow down. This will make it easier for people to cross. So, I don’t think it’s about the bridge. If it were that important, people would protest. When there was fuel scarcity, there were protests and strikes. So, it’s not that deep for many people.”

‘IT’S SCARY’

Faridah, a resident of Alapere, said crossing the highway without a bridge was not only strenuous but also scary.

She said: “I don’t like crossing the road. I’m so scared of moving vehicles, especially on an expressway. It’s scary. So flyover bridges are like lifesavers for me. But now that this one is no longer there, I have to summon the courage to cross every time. Sometimes, I watch people and cross with them. But in cases where I’m the only one, I may have to wait till eternity before I cross.”

On the part of Victor, a resident heading to the Island, the risks of road accidents in the area are higher without the bridge. “There have been accidents here. This is because the risk is higher now than when the pedestrian bridge was there. Also, there is the fear of crossing for many people, but we have no choice,” he said.

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‘ACCIDENTS HAVE INCREASED’

An artisan, whose machine was close to the expressway, sat on a bench under the shade. He was conversing with a man beside him when this reporter approached them.

He corroborated the accounts of previous sources, stating that there had indeed been a rise in road accidents along the highway.

“Vehicles are now hitting one another and also hitting people. A man was coming from church one Sunday when he got hit while he was trying to cross. A woman, too, got hit one night, and the vehicle dragged her from one end to the other,” said the artisan.

“We just appeal to the government to help us fix it on time. They should pity us. A child was almost involved in an accident just last week. The mother was rolling on the floor in gratitude to God.”

The man sitting beside the artisan would then tell this reporter that the LASTMA officers often failed to direct drivers on the highway because they had nothing to protect them from the sun.

“When the bridge collapsed last year, it was just a few people who knew about it that night. And when the government cleared everything, they positioned those LASTMA officers there. But the officers are not doing their job well. They mostly sit there throughout the day. It’s not easy for people to stand under the sun for hours.

“The government should give them something to protect them from the sun on both sides and even at the centre. It will make their work easier. When vehicles pass and people want to cross, they can easily stop them. It’s not every driver that knows they need to slow down here. Some of them will even be receiving calls on the phone. Some of them don’t concentrate, too. However, when the officers are doing their job, there won’t be difficulty with crossing the road.”

He also said that many pedestrian bridges in the state had been turned into stalls for displaying traders’ wares.

“Some have even become a den of thieves. These things sometimes discourage people from using the bridges. The major thing is security on the pedestrian bridges,” he said.

On February 7, the state government said the result of the structural integrity tests and a preliminary structural re-design of the bridge that would allow for an increased headroom to prevent a future recurrence had been submitted.

“The final design will be concluded shortly, and a nominated contractor will mobilise for the commencement of physical construction activities,” the government stated.

FIJ could not reach the Lagos State Ministry of Works and Infrastructure for comments, as calls put across to the ministry on Tuesday were unanswered. The message sent to one of the numbers has also not been responded to.

More videos of pedestrians crossing the highway on both sides can be found here and here.