Motorists and commuters travelling along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway experienced severe delays on Tuesday, September 15, 2026, after a seven-vehicle collision near Kara Bridge triggered over 14 hours of massive gridlock.
The multi-vehicle crash, which occurred during the early hours of the morning, compounded existing traffic disruptions caused by ongoing structural repair works on the Kara Bridge expansion joints.
The resulting tailbacks stretched from the bridge past the Long Bridge toward Magboro, eventually extending as far back as Iyana-Oworo and the Third Mainland Bridge in Lagos.
Mechanical failure triggers seven-vehicle collision
According to the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), the incident began when an unregistered 40-foot container truck suffered a mechanical failure while in motion. The driver lost control of the heavy vehicle, causing it to ram into six other vehicles on the carriageway, including a Toyota Hilux, a Mitsubishi Hilux, a Hyundai Odyssey, a Toyota Highlander, a Toyota Sienna, and an interstate passenger bus.
Emergency responders from LASEMA’s LRT Tiger Squad, the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), and the Nigeria Police Force arrived at the scene shortly after 6:00 AM to initiate recovery operations.
LASEMA Permanent Secretary Dr. Olufemi Damilola Oke-Osanyintolu confirmed that while the collision caused extensive vehicular damage, zero fatalities and no physical injuries were recorded. Private towing units cleared the wreckage to the roadside to restore passage.
Route traffic worsened due to one-way driving
Although recovery crews successfully cleared the damaged vehicles, traffic congestion worsened due to widespread traffic violations. Impatient motorists attempting to bypass the bottleneck began driving against traffic on the Lagos-bound lanes.
Eyewitness accounts confirmed that drivers taking the illegal one-way route occupied three of the four available lanes heading toward Lagos. This secondary obstruction caused gridlock for inbound vehicles attempting to cross the OPIC stretch.
Traffic flow suffered further disruption later in the evening following a second, separate vehicular accident in the Kara axis, keeping LASTMA and Ogun State Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Agency (TRACE) officers on scene well into the night.
Bridge repairs and surging transit fares
The disruption comes amid critical rehabilitation work on the Kara Bridge expansion joints, which had already reduced lane capacity and increased general travel times between Lagos and Ogun states. Transport authorities noted that the reduced roadway space makes the corridor highly vulnerable to severe delays whenever breakdowns or collisions occur.
The prolonged gridlock also led to sharp increases in commercial transport fares along the corridor as operators capitalised on the chaos. Commuters travelling from Iyana-Oworo to Berger saw standard fares of ₦500 to ₦700 jump significantly to ₦2,000. Similarly, the fare for those making the longer trip from Iyana-Oworo to Mowe spiked from the regular ₦1,200 up to ₦3,000 per passenger.
Traffic management agencies continue to advise motorists travelling the interstate corridor to exercise patience, observe lane discipline, and avoid driving against traffic to enable faster clearance during peak congestion periods.
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