Three Broken-Down Trucks Paralyse Abuja-Kaduna Highway, Travellers Spend Eight Hours in Gridlock

Three Broken-Down Trucks Paralyse Abuja-Kaduna Highway, Travellers Spend Eight Hours in Gridlock

 

Three broken-down trucks have once again exposed the vulnerability of the Abuja-Kaduna highway, trapping hundreds of motorists and travellers in a crippling traffic gridlock that lasted several hours on Monday, with some commuters reportedly spending up to eight hours on the road.

The trucks, which reportedly became immobilised on Rijana Bridge around 2am, blocked a section of the busy highway, triggering a massive traffic build-up stretching from Akilibu to Gidan Busa, according a Daily Trust report.

The development left motorists stranded for hours, disrupted commercial activities and forced some travellers to abandon their journeys, while others considered alternative routes to Abuja.

A commercial driver, Bala, was quoted as saying he spent nearly three hours in the traffic before managing to continue his journey.

“Honestly, the situation was very frustrating. I have just come out of the traffic after spending more than three hours on the road. We were told that some vehicles broke down in the middle of the road around 2am on Monday,” he said.

Another resident of Katari, Danjuma Katari, said traffic was still moving slowly around 5pm, despite efforts to remove the trucks.

A motorist, Reuben Buhari, who shared his experience on Facebook, said he spent eight hours in the gridlock before reaching Abuja.

He also blamed motorists’ indiscipline, impatience and disregard for traffic regulations for worsening the situation.

For Sarah Monday, a fashion designer travelling to Abuja for a contract meeting, the gridlock came at a considerable cost, as she missed the appointment.

She appealed to the Federal Government to expedite the completion of the highway to spare commuters the recurring hardship, particularly during festive periods.

FRSC removes two trucks

The Federal Road Safety Corps Sector Commander, Andrew Paul Longkam, confirmed the incident, saying two of the three trucks had been removed and traffic was gradually returning to normal.

He attributed the severity of the congestion to ongoing reconstruction work, which had reduced the available carriageway to a single lane, making it difficult for motorists to manoeuvre whenever an obstruction occurred.

He also cited the high volume of vehicles on the highway, including those reportedly travelling to Jigawa State for a political campaign.

The latest incident adds to a troubling pattern of recurring gridlocks along the corridor, particularly around the Jere-Katari axis.

Similar disruptions were recorded in January, May and August, triggered by a combination of road construction, accidents, heavy vehicular movement, rainfall and motorists’ poor driving habits.

The repeated gridlocks have renewed concerns over the pace of reconstruction and the need for effective traffic management on one of northern Nigeria’s busiest highways.