Commuters stranded for two days on Calabar/Itu Road

 The collapse of a portion of the Odukpani end of the Calabar-Itu Expressway in Cross River State has left commuters stranded for two days.
Commuters were also stranded for several hours on Sunday at another failed portion in Alesi village along the Ikom-Calabar highway.
The situation has affected the timely distribution of newspapers and business in Calabar and its environs in the last one week.
It was learnt that vehicles were trapped at Odukpani end of Calabar/Itu Expressway between Thursday and Saturday.
When our correspondent visited the bad portion of the road on Sunday, no fewer than 100 vehicles were trapped in the traffic jam.
The roads, which were constructed during the Gen. Yakubu Gowon regime 40 years ago, could no longer withstand the pressure owing to the number of vehicles that now plied them.
A commuter, Mr. John Bassey, called on the state and federal governments to construct an alternative road, adding that an alternative road into Calabar was long overdue.
He also appealed to the state government to as a matter of urgency prevail on the Federal Government to be sensitive to the plight of the people.
“Government should help us on this road because we are suffering a lot. They should think of an alternative route to Calabar or build a new road leading to Calabar,” he said.