{"id":67492,"date":"2025-06-07T01:46:51","date_gmt":"2025-06-07T01:46:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/?p=67492"},"modified":"2025-06-07T01:46:51","modified_gmt":"2025-06-07T01:46:51","slug":"sallah-travellers-stranded-on-abuja-kaduna-highway","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/2025\/06\/07\/sallah-travellers-stranded-on-abuja-kaduna-highway\/","title":{"rendered":"Sallah Travellers Stranded on Abuja-Kaduna Highway"},"content":{"rendered":"

Be Adewunmi Oluwaseun\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Thousands of travellers commuting for the Sallah holiday were stranded for hours on the Abuja-Kaduna highway on Thursday following a major gridlock caused by a fallen oil tanker and worsened by the deplorable state of the road.<\/p>\n

The traffic snarl began a few kilometres after Jere Junction in Kaduna State’s Kagarko Local Government Area, leaving many passengers stuck for five to six hours on a journey that normally takes about two and a half hours.<\/p>\n

The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) confirmed that the obstruction was due to a crash involving a fuel tanker near Katari village.<\/p>\n

Commuters expressed frustration and exhaustion as they recounted their experiences. Ibrahim Muhammad said he missed an important appointment in Kaduna despite leaving Abuja early.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe logjam caused a standstill. No car moved for hours. We heard it was an accident but saw no sign of a fallen vehicle,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Another traveller, Ismail Idris, described the gridlock as a recurring issue, especially during festive periods.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s frustrating that there are never enough traffic officials on the ground. It\u2019s always after hours of standstill that FRSC or soldiers show up to restore order,\u201d he lamented.<\/p>\n

Fatima Adam, who was travelling to Kano, said her trip was significantly delayed. \u201cWe were at a spot near Jere for over three hours. People got down for air. Children were crying. It was a terrible sight,\u201d she narrated.<\/p>\n

According to the FRSC, its operatives eventually cleared the obstruction under the supervision of the Corps Marshal, Shehu Mohammed.<\/p>\n

The Corps urged motorists to remain lane-disciplined and drive cautiously to avoid further disruptions.<\/p>\n

Recurring traffic congestion on this critical highway is not new. In December 2024, a similar incident involving four heavy-duty trucks paralyzed movement from Maje in Niger State to parts of the Abuja-Kaduna route.<\/p>\n

Last year\u2019s Sallah holiday also witnessed gridlock due to increased traffic on the deteriorated road.<\/p>\n

The Abuja\u2013Kaduna highway has been under reconstruction for seven years, with frequent delays and setbacks. The initial contractor, Julius Berger, completed much of the Kaduna-Zaria-Kano axis, but little progress was made between Abuja and Kaduna before the contract was revoked due to financial disagreements.<\/p>\n

The job was reassigned to Infiouest Nigeria Limited, with the new contractor adopting a concrete pavement method for durability.<\/p>\n

Minister of Works David Umahi said Sections 1 and 3, totaling 118km, were awarded to Infiouest at a cost of N252 billion, with 30 percent already disbursed. Another 82km stretch is expected to be constructed at a cost of N525 billion.<\/p>\n

In May, the Minister of State for Works, Bello Goronyo, announced the completion of six kilometres of reinforced concrete pavement and praised the quality of work during an inspection visit.<\/p>\n

He assured the public that the road, when completed, would reduce travel time, improve safety, and boost economic activities.<\/p>\n

Experts, however, believe that Nigeria\u2019s infrastructural development still falls short of its population growth.<\/p>\n

Engr. Bola Mudashiru said the country’s overreliance on road transportation without expanding road networks or introducing alternatives leads to predictable congestion during high-travel seasons.<\/p>\n

Despite ongoing construction, the Abuja\u2013Kaduna highway continues to pose risks to commuters, especially during major holidays.<\/p>\n

Travellers are now calling for urgent and lasting solutions to the recurring nightmare.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Be Adewunmi Oluwaseun\u00a0 Thousands of travellers commuting for the Sallah holiday were stranded for hours on the Abuja-Kaduna highway on Thursday following a major gridlock caused by a fallen oil tanker and worsened by the deplorable state of the road. The traffic snarl began a few kilometres after Jere Junction in Kaduna State’s Kagarko Local […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":32,"featured_media":67495,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[172],"tags":[59],"class_list":["post-67492","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-featured"],"aioseo_notices":[],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67492","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/32"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=67492"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67492\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":67496,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67492\/revisions\/67496"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/67495"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=67492"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=67492"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=67492"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}