Commuters plying Owerri-Umuahia Road have experienced three tough weeks during which they paid three times more than what they ought to pay as transport fares.
This followed the closure of the Obeama Enyiogugu and Azaraegbelu portion of the road, which is under reconstruction.
Several vehicles that used the road weeks ago when laterite was poured on it got stuck. Others broke down after wading through the marshy stretch.
The portion, including the front of Heartland FM, has been rendered impassable, forcing motorists to look for detours in bush paths and longer routes such as the airport road through Aba Road.
Commuters now pay bus fares ranging from N800 to N1,200 to Mbaise while those travelling to Umuahia pay N3,000 and above.
Although the rains were obstructing rehabilitation and reconstruction work, some road users complained of the slow pace of work on the project.
They felt the construction company would have handled that portion in the dry season, knowing that it is always waterlogged in the rainy season.
“The high fares we are experiencing now is man-made. If the company had done the needful at the right time, at least, put one lane in order, things would have been different,” said one of the commuters who is a civil servant.
When confronted, one of the expatriates working on the road apologised for the inconvenience and promised that the problem would be over soon.
The road project was flagged off late 2022 by Gov. Hope Uzodimma of Imo State.