REPORTER: UCHE NDEKE
Some residents of Awka , the Anambra state capital have appealed to the government to construct a pedestrian bridge at Regina junction on the Enugu- Onitsha expressway .
According to them, the construction of a foot bridge will reduce the number of accidents being recorded at the junction as pedestrians attempt to cross the express way
The Regina junction axis of the Enugu Onitsha expressway connects the Okpuno and Awka areas of Anambra State Capital Territory separated by the highway.
Every hour during the day time hundreds of people including the elderly, the young , school children, nursing mothers and traders, scamper for safety as they make frantic effort to cross the six lane expressway to enter Awka or Okpuno for their daily activities.
The effort on some occasions end in disaster as the people are knock down by vehicles that ply the expressway on high speed resulting either in death or serious injuries that take months of hospitalisation for recovery.
Some users of the junction who spoke with Radio Nigeria expressed deep concern over the number of accidents in the area.
They described the situation as worrisome and life-threatening and called for urgent action by the government to tackle the problem.
A commercial driver, Mr Mike Eneje who plies the route daily, said the absence of a pedestrian bridge has turned the junction into a death trap, especially during peak hours.
" Of course we need a pedestrian bridge here, Awka have developed so we need it to save lives."
A resident and trader at Regina Junction, Mr Chukwunonso Imo, echoed similar sentiment, noting that the situation has claimed many lives.
He appealed to Governor Chukwuma Soludo to prioritize the construction of a footbridge in the area to save lives.
Another user of the road,Mr Emmanuel Okoye, said pedestrian bridge has become a necessity rather than an option at the junction considering the volume of human traffic on the axis daily.
" If the government can do it, it's okay okay ooo. If the bridge is here it will be fine, because the way people cross here,how many times motor don jam people for here, so if government can try it, it's very good."
In an interview, the Sector Commander Federal Road Safety Corps in Anambra state, Mrs Bridget Asekhauno said the agency considered the high risk posed by the absence of a pedestrian bridge in the area and decided to position some it’s personnel there during rush hours to control vehicular and human traffic and ensure orderliness.
"Some people have been injured or involved in crash at that particular spot, so we saw it as our corporate social responsibilities for FRSC to ensure people cross seamlessly. But at the same time that is not the permanent solution to that place, it is to get pedestrian bridge for particular axis and which we have as well written to the state government and and they are looking at it."
As the interim measure of the Federal Road safety Corps lasts the residents are praying with optimism that one day their appeal for a foot bridge in the junction will be answered by either the federal or Anambra State government.
