The Lagos State Government has announced plans to reconstruct major intersections at Parkview and Banana Island in Ikoyi as part of efforts to tackle persistent traffic congestion in the area.
The projects are expected to be completed within six months, with the government saying construction would be carefully managed to minimise disruption to residents, businesses and commuters.
The Commissioner for Transportation, Oluwaseun Osiyemi, disclosed the plans during a stakeholders’ engagement on the projects, saying the two intersections were currently the government’s priority for addressing traffic challenges within the Ikoyi corridor.
“The core primary focus right now is two major intersection projects. One is at Parkview, and the other is at Banana Island,” Osiyemi said.
He said the government was working with residents, contractors, traffic managers, utility providers and other stakeholders to ensure the projects were delivered efficiently.
According to the commissioner, some administrative and technical processes were still being concluded before physical construction could begin, although the government expected work to commence shortly.
“The duration of the project is six months, but I want to state that we should be able to complete it on or before the set six months,” he said, adding that work was expected to continue throughout the construction period.
Osiyemi acknowledged that road construction in a busy residential and commercial environment could affect daily activities, but said the work programme had been designed around existing traffic patterns.
He explained that construction activities would be reduced during peak traffic periods and intensified when traffic volumes were lower, rather than stopping work completely.
“The work programme is structured in a way that we are going to work in such a way that we avoid disruption to the way the main people do business. During the peak period, we slow down the work, but not stop work altogether. During off-peak periods, we pick up the work,” he said.
The commissioner described the projects as urgent but said the government needed to resolve certain administrative matters before contractors could move fully to site.
He said the precaution was necessary to ensure that efforts to address traffic problems did not create additional challenges for residents and road users.
“There are one or two administrative issues that need to be cleared, to ensure that, in trying to solve a problem, you don’t create another problem,” he said.
Osiyemi also highlighted the presence of underground infrastructure in the affected areas, including fibre-optic cables, water facilities and electricity installations.
He said contractors would have to coordinate with the relevant utility providers to prevent damage to critical infrastructure and disruption to essential services.
“We have a lot of fibre underground, we have Water Corporation, we have all sorts, we have electricity. So, it is important to do these things responsibly and professionally, so that we don’t interrupt people’s lives,” he said.
He assured residents that the outstanding issues would be resolved and expressed confidence that physical work would be visible in the area before the end of the year.
“But I can assure you that between now and December, we should see it,” he said.
The projects are being handled by Julius Berger, with the state government also working with traffic managers, project monitors, telecommunications companies and other agencies involved in the affected corridors.
Osiyemi said stakeholders, including MTN and NIPSS, were being engaged as part of efforts to coordinate the construction and minimise its impact on surrounding communities.
The Chairman of the Parkview Residents Association, Ronke Sokefun, welcomed the planned reconstruction, describing it as a long-awaited intervention to address traffic problems that had become a regular feature of the area.
Sokefun, a former Chairman of the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation, said residents were particularly concerned about the sharp 90-degree turn at the entrance and exit of the estate, which she said frequently contributed to traffic bottlenecks.
“We have always had concerns about the 90-degree turn, both in terms of entrance into the estate and exiting the estate. It does cause bottlenecks, you know, more often than not,” she said.
She added that the residents’ association had started informing members about the planned project.
Also speaking on the sidelines of the engagement, the Chairman of the Banana Island Association, Abidemi Shuneyin, said residents had been engaging with the Lagos State Government over traffic problems affecting Banana Island, Parkview, Gerrard and Banana Road.
Shuneyin said discussions with the commissioner had continued for between nine months and a year before the government moved to support the proposed interventions.
“This whole journey started about a year ago when we noticed continuous traffic around Banana Island, Parkview, Gerrard, and Banana Road. So, we contacted the commissioner, and we have been engaging with him for the last nine months to one year,” he said.
He expressed appreciation to the state government and Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu for including the projects in the state’s plans, saying the intervention would help improve mobility for residents in the Ikoyi area.
“We are very grateful to the governor, His Excellency Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, for making this happen because, you know, for them to put this in the budget is a whole lot,” Shuneyin said.
