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For residents and motorists in Aba, the commercial nerve-centre of Abia State, transportation in and out of the city has been a nightmare in the last three months. Reason is that the ongoing rehabilitation of some roads in the city has inflicted untold hardship on them.

Many parts of the city have been blocked either with debris deposited from overflowing drainage channels or earth moving equipment by construction companies handling road rehabilitation works. Some roads like Umuojima, Umule, Ukaegbu, Umuola, Kamalu and Omni have been blocked and made impassable to motorists.

The dilapidated state of roads in the city has often caused articulated vehicles like trucks to fall as they attempted to negotiate bad spots. Last week, a truck carrying empty beer bottles had, while negotiating a bad portion at the Ngwa High School area, fallen on a tricycle and a Toyota Sienna.

Five persons were sent to their untimely graves from the resulting impact. Another crash was also recorded at Port Harcourt Road as a truck fell at a bad portion of the road and injured three pedestrians.

From one area of the city to another, it has been tales of woe due to traffic jams caused by bad roads. A cross-section of residents lamented that they now spend several hours on the road daily due to traffic jams caused by bad roads in all parts of the city.

From Aba/Owerri Road to Osisioma Ngwa Junction, Faulks Road to Ukwu Mango, Umule to Tonimas Junction, Ukaegbu/ Umuola roads to Obikabia Junction, the situation has caused untold hardships to motorists and commuters in Aba. A typical gridlock along Aba—Owerri road caused by the construction of drainage channels, most times stretches up to two kilometres with motorists and pedestrians unable to move. On a particular occasion, the state Governor, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu, was trapped in traffic jam at the Aba-Owerri Road. It took several minutes before his security details could clear the road for him as he sat in his car waving at residents.

Even the St. Paul Road which now serves as alternative route to the scary Aba/Owerri Road, a worse form of gridlock is now being experienced as stones used to fill it have been washed away.The Port Harcourt and Aba – Ikot Ekpene roads which are two of the three major entry routes into Aba, have developed deep gullies and now compete with the nearby Imo River as they are completely flooded.  

Commuters now have to disembark at one end of the road, wade through flood water and trek a distance before boarding another taxi or bus to get to their destinations. On the dilapidated Port Harcourt and Ikot Ekpene roads, tricycle operators were seen making brisk businesses as they now collect N70 from the Aba main motor park to the flooded area at Uratta, while the commuter finds his way through the flood to the next ‘bus stop’ where he pays another N100 to take him to the flyover junction of the Enugu-Port Harcourt expressway. It is the same with commuters going to Onicha Ngwa, Ohanze and Ikot Ekpene, Uyo and other towns in Akwa Ibom State.