The Federal Government has threatened to shut the Lagos section of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway within two weeks if motorists and other road users fail to comply with safety measures and conditions along the route do not improve.

The Federal Controller of Works in Lagos State, Olufemi Dare, issued the warning on Monday while addressing journalists during an inspection tour of the highway.

Dare said the decision followed a directive from the Minister of Works, David Umahi, amid persistent safety breaches, vandalism and other illegal activities along the road.

He said, “Within two weeks, if there’s no improvement on all these issues, then we have no option than to come back and shutdown this road.”The controller said the government had an alternative in the Lekki-Epe Expressway, adding that the coastal highway was still under construction and should ordinarily not have been opened to traffic before the completion of its bridges.

The Lagos section of the coastal highway comprises two sections spanning about 103km, with Section 1 covering about 47km and Section 2 extending for about 56km.

Dare said there were 20 major bridges across the two sections in Lagos, with 10 in each section, several of which were still under construction.

He expressed concern over motorists driving at high speeds on a road where construction work was ongoing, despite the prescribed speed limit of 30km per hour.

“People who come to coastal road and get to a speed of 120 kilometres per hour on the coastal road, and where constructions are going on, bridges, construction are going on,” he said. We have said your speed on the coastal road must not be more than 30 kilometres per hour.”

Dare said lives were being lost on the highway “almost every other day”, warning that the government could no longer allow the situation to continue.

The controller also warned articulated vehicle operators against parking along the highway, saying some trucks and trailers were being used as temporary parking spaces by drivers.

He said the government had reached an agreement with the Lagos State Police Command to increase police deployment along the highway.

According to Dare, the increased security presence followed meetings between Umahi and the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Fatai Tijani.