Hours-long gridlock gripped Eko Bridge on Tuesday, as repair work on nearby Apongbon Bridge choked off major routes into Lagos Island.

The Lagos State Traffic Management Authority said engineers from the Federal Ministry of Works spent four to five hours working on the bridge, creating a massive backlog that extended as far back as Alaka bus stop.

According to a media personnel, he described the experience as “terrible,” saying he left Mushin at 12:15 p.m. headed to the Island but got stuck near National Stadium.

“I spent no less than three hours in the jam. The congestion even affected motorists coming from Apapa,” he said.

The gridlock forced many commuters to abandon their vehicles and seek alternative routes. Another commuter said, she had to divert to Oyingbo Market and board a bus to the Island from there.

Other frustrated commuters complained that authorities gave no advance notice about the repairs.

“This is not right at all. Repairs should not be carried out during such a critical period of the season,” one said. “There was no prior information about these repairs, which caught people unawares. We would have made proper arrangements if we had known.”

LASTMA’s General Manager, Olalekan Bakare-Oki, confirmed the situation and said officials had asked the engineers to remove barriers and leave the area.

“We are now coping with the backlog,” he said in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria.

However, the incident highlights Lagos’s ongoing road problems, where unplanned repairs during busy hours often disrupt the daily commute of millions who rely on the city’s bridges.