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International Journal of Engineering Science Invention
ISSN (Online): 2319 – 6734, ISSN (Print): 2319 – 6726
www.ijesi.org ||Volume 4 Issue 9|| September 2015 || PP.06-09
www.ijesi.org 1 | Page
The Cause, Effect and Possible Solution to Traffic Congestion on
Nigeria Road (A Case Study of Basorun-Akobo Road, Oyo State)
S. B. Raheem1, W. A. Olawoore1, D. P. Olagunju1, E. M. Adeokun2
1. Department of Civil Engineering, The Polytechnic, Ibadan. Nigeria.
2Graduating student of the Department of Civil Engineering, The Polytechnic, Ibadan. Nigeria.
ABSTRACT : Due to increase in population and the attraction of human activities into urban region which in
turn leads to the growth of vehicle ownership and use, there is demand for road space which has led to increase
in the number of public transport operation. Consequently, the demand for road space is greater than the
supply because the rate of provision of transport facilities is less than the rate of growth of vehicle ownership
and use which result into traffic congestion. Traffic congestion is the impedance of vehicles imposed on each
other due to speed-flow relationship in conditions where the use of transport system approaches capacity.
Traffic congestion in Nigeria, taking Basorun-Akobo Road in Ibadan Oyo State as a case study has been
analysed using experimental and theoretical approaches. These involve traffic counting and delay survey. In
order to carry out effective research work on the case study road, the method adopted were traffic counting and
traffic delay survey. The effect of traffic congestion on the study area are Waste of time, Delay movement,
Accident, Inability to forecast travel time, Fuel consumption, Road rage and environmental pollution. Possible
solutions to traffic congestion on the case study area is to: Dualize the Road, Provide Adequate Parking Space,
Construct proper Drainage and Install Traffic Control Devices.
I. Introduction
Road became important means of transportation during the reign of Roman Empire. Roman‟s kingdom
modernized, used road effectively compared to the existing usage of road whereby ox, man, chariot, camel, bull
were used as major carrier in road transportation. But the invention of the motor vehicle meant that roads were
no longer meant for pedestrians, chariot and animals. The invention called for improvement of the state of the
roads, which led to increased speeds and danger to road users. This then called for a proper construction and
control of traffic to increase efficiency of the roads in traffic performance.
Demand for highway travel by people continues to grow as population increases, particularly in the metropolitan
area and the construction of new highway capacity to accommodate this growth in travel has not kept pace.
Congestion results when traffic demand approaches or exceeds the available capacity of the road system. While
this is a simple concept, it is not constant because traffic demand may vary significantly depending on the
season of the year, the day of the week and even time of the day. Nevertheless, the overall effect of congestion
on Nigeria Highway cannot be accurately quantify due to uncounted and diversified effects it has on the national
capacity but its significant effect can be seen on service delivery, good delivery, pollution, discomfort, excessive
fuel consumption, excessive vehicle maintenance – all these accounted for economic loss.
The problem of traffic congestion has reached an alarming rate in Nigeria especially in many cities. However,
there is a general feeling that the traffic flow should be free to allow free movement of goods and service but
reverse is the case own to the overcrowding of the road users (vehicles) on the road and this manifest through a
number of problems which include:
Delay: this is the time lost while traffic flow is impeded
Inability to forecast travel time accurately, leading to drivers allocating more time to travel and less
time on productive activities.
Wastage of fuel and increasing air pollution: releasing of CO (carbon monoxide) and other pollutant by
congested car account for environmental and health problem which range from nose running to global
warming.
Wear and tear on vehicles as a result of idling in traffic and frequent acceleration and braking, leading
to more frequent repairs and replacements.
Stressed and frustration: discomfort that comes from stop and go condition of the traffic congestion
cause discomfort and weakness of passengers and motorists.More so, congestion increases the tendency
of collision which may lead to series of injuries and fatality.
Perishing of some agricultural produce: Many agricultural products such as tomatoes, mangoes etc.
The Cause, Effect And Possible Solution…
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The overall effects of traffic congestion can be broadly be categorized under; Health effects, Environmental
effects, and Economy effect. Nigeria vision of becoming one the first 20thstrongest economy in the world cannot
be achieved unless the spate of traffic congestions on our road is nullified. This is due to the facts that
ineffective transportation system dwarfed the economy. Jerome D. &et. al (2005), noticed major challenge in
road transportation as congestion which result to immeasurable impact on country‟s economy, he suggested that,
congested free road will enhance efficient mobility of goods and services and then make road transportation as
most preferred transportation mode.
Filani and Olateru (1976) said that traffic congestion exists in Ibadan and that the situation is growing worse
each day in spite of some adhere step being taken to alleviate the situation. He noted that traffic jams are more
attributable to bad traffic management and for traffic education of the road users. On the basis of this analysis,
he suggested ways of improving traffic management and educating the road users on the use of urban highway
for mutual convenience. Some of this suggestion includes setting up of mobile courts and re – introduction of
the municipal bus transport service of which it operation would reduce number of mini buses and taxi plying the
existing with.It must however be noted that the mobile court was recently introduced in Ibadan but the frequent
strive action of the public transportation union partly face it to park up. The attempt and the willingness of the
researcher to cover all congested roads in the country in executing this research work would be tedious, time
wasting owing to distance security and the complexity of the Nigerian roads. Thus,Basorun-Akobo road will be
used by the researcher out of the numerous roads in Nigeria. And also, there are numerous factors which cause
congestion (as described by US department of Highway) but this research work focuses on one „ Physical
Bottlenecks‟ (Capacity). Basorun-akobo road has 10 prominent junctions (Basorun-oja, Yanbule, General
gas,Oolopo-meji, Fisco, Baptist, Iyana-olopa,Omolayo, Oje, and Akala) out of which 3 were subjected to the
study.
II. Methods
Prior to the actual work, preliminary investigation was carried out along the case study road to
determine the best approach to be used in dealing with the research problems. The whole road was surveyed by
three men and it was observed that noticeable congestions was within the APCON in Basorun to OlopoMeji in
Akobo, all fall within 2 local government. Researcher then restricted investigation to the area described above,
which consists of four noticeable junctions (BaosrunOja, Yanbule, General Gas and Olopo-meji)- all covers
1.55km. Based on the nature of the research work, the researcher employed scope that consists an experimental
investigation and theoretical study. The experimental investigation involved traffic counting and delay
surveying. In this section, researcher examined visible causes of congestion on the case road, studying traffic
stream which involved traffic direction peak period and other factors that are physically affecting the easy flow
of traffic along the study area. Theoretical aspect of the research work was primarily based on the analysis of the
data gathered through traffic counting and delay survey and translation of this data in relation to the level of
service.
Fig. 1: Map of Nigeria; Showing Location of the study area (Ibadan, Oyo State)
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2.1 Traffic Counting
There are various technique and methods used in traffic survey (traffic counting) but for the purpose of this
research work, manual counting was adopted. Preliminary investigation has incited researchers and thus carried
out traffic counting at general gas.
Manual counting: in this case, an observer will be assigned to a particular station (General gas) along the case
road, record on a sensor sheet the easy passage of traffic according to the classification. The counting (number
of vehicles) was based assessed per hour, all heavy duty vehicles were converted to passenger car by
multiplying them with factor of three (3).
Data sought out at the end of the counting were analyzed using appropriate tools. Manual counting is usually
carried out for a day or week because it is impossible to manually carry out the counting for a longer period. For
the purpose of this research work, counting was carried out for a week between 7am to 8am daily.
The following data were generated:
Traffic density: This is the number of vehicle in a given length of road at an instantaneous time. It is measured
in vehicles per kilometers.
Traffic flow: This is the quantity of vehicles in space measured in an interval of time. Measured in vehicle per
hour
Speed: This is the distance travelled by vehicle during a unit time. i.e. rate of movement of traffic. It is
measured in kilometer per hour or mile per hour. Speed was determined by sampling a set of vehicles, noting
their travel time (with the use of stop watch) on a predetermined length of road along the case road.
2.2 Delay Survey
Delay reduces the running speed below what might be considered an acceptable speed. In carrying out of delay
study, registration number method was used whereby the Registration Number of vehicles passing the surveys
were noted by observers. Intermediate observers were used to trace the path of vehicles within the surveys area.
Journey times were obtained by recording the time at which the vehicles pass the survey system (scene).
Base on the result of the preliminary investigation and traffic counting data obtained, delay surveys were carried
out in the morning and in the afternoon.
Three scenes were formed along the case road; one between APCON to BasorunOja (280m), second is between
Yanbule to General Gas (250m) and the third is between General Gas to OlopoMeji junction (310m).
III. Results and Analysis
The data here shows various results obtained on difference practical test carried out in the field (road). These
include traffic volume (AHV), delay survey and Level of service (LOS).
Traffic Volume:
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3.1 Level of Service
Vehicles were counted per lane to determine the operational situation of each lane of the case study road. Data
obtained were compared with the Level of Service A as best highway condition and with service C as fairly
condition.
Table 1: Level of Service
Time
Lane Description
No. Of passenger car per mile
(1.6km) per lane
Level of Service
7am-8am
Akobo – Basorun
118
F
Basorun – Akobo
72
F
8am – 9am
Akobo – Basorun
101
F
Basorun – Akobo
48
E
9am -10am
Akobo – Basorun
109
F
Basorun – Akobo
47
E
10am- 11am
Akobo – Basorun
79
F
Basorun – Akobo
45
E
11am – 12pm
Akobo – Basorun
41
E
Basorun – Akobo
47
E
12pm-1pm
Akobo – Basorun
42
E
Basorun – Akobo
33
E
1pm-2pm
Akobo – Basorun
42
E
Basorun – Akobo
38
E
2pm-3pm
Akobo – Basorun
41
E
Basorun – Akobo
72
F
3pm-4pm
Akobo – Basorun
48
E
Basorun – Akobo
51
F
4pm -5pm
Akobo – Basorun
69
F
Basorun – Akobo
111
F
5pm-6pm
Akobo – Basorun
44
E
Basorun – Akobo
111
F
Interpretation: During the evening and morning peak periods, and during evening, morning low period when
traffic was controlled, the data obtained for level of service is presented in above. During peak periods (7:30am
– 9am & 4pm – 5pm), the traffic on this road is operated under level of service F. Operation of the road is found
under level of service E only in the mid-day
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3.2 Discussion of Results
The most noticeable congestion problem along the study road was found during the peak hour (between 7:30am
and 8:30am while coming from Akobo towards Basoruun and between 3:45pm and 4:30pm while going towards
Akobo from Basorun). This is because of the concentration of individual workers‟ vehicles (which covers 62%
of all vehicles plying the road) that leave for work during morning and return home during afternoon. Sunday
traffic pattern was completely different from other traffic pattern (Appendix 8 & 9). Peak period was found
between 8am -9am while afternoon peak period was found between 1pm – 2pm). This was a result of significant
number of churches situated at Basorun. The road would have completely be free from congestion during
moderate traffic-flow period, but due to some defect (Portholes), offline manoeuvre, driver behaviour and lack
of crossing facilities along the road; congestion usually be at play. Average delay time between Basorun to
Olopo-meji 6minutes and ideal time is just 15seconds. Ideal times is the times taking for a vehicle travelling on
56km/h to pass through the length of road survey (900m) under prevailing condition. Vehicle form a long queue
when traffic contacts small interference even during the low period of traffic as the traffic is being operating
under level of service F in most time.
IV. Conclusion and Recommendation
4.1 Conclusion
The conclusion for this research work is based on the results obtained in the experiments as follows.
The case study road operates under level of service F (in most time) which is generally unacceptable and level of
service E during low traffic period.
Defects on the road also constitute significantly to congestion
The case study road lack parking bay and thus parking vehicles inhibit the free-flow of traffic
Average delay on case road is 6minute which is unacceptable as ideal time on that road course is just 15seconds
The pick hourly traffic is found between 7:45am and 8:30am and 4:00pm – 4:45pm for morning and evening peak
period respectively.
Private cars are the most vehicular type that ply the road
Most congested section of the road was found between Yanbule and General Gas.
Morning congestion (coming) exceeded afternoon congestion (going)
Factors such as bad road (pothole) responsible for congestion (especially between general gas and Olopomeji
junction
4.2 Recommendation
It was found that Basorun –Akobo road is characterized with daily traffic congestion; thus, followings were
recommended based on findings:
Proper attention and management should be given to Basorun-Akobo Road due to the importance of the
road
The road should be dualized to enhance free-flow of traffic: Scholars in highway engineering (such as John
J. Fruin) believed that level of service A is unrealistic in urban area roads, however, urban area typically
adopts standard varying between C and D and E sometimes depend on the area, size and characteristics of
traffic, any road operate beyond this should be dualized.
Channelizing devices or traffic control devices should be installed especially as the junctions to aid flow as
traffic wardens judgement is inaccurate.
Parking bay or lot should be provided along the road
The road should not be encroached with shops (market).
REFERENCES
[1] Adewumi Rowland (2009): Nigeria Roads: Roadmap to progress “http://www.newnigerian.blogspot.com
[2] Filani, M.O. and Olateru - Olagbegi S.A. (1976): Urban Transportation in relation to land use in Nigeria. Paper presented at
NISER Conference on the land policy in Nigeria, Ibadan.
[3] Glen Weisbrod (2003), Measuring the Economic Costs of Urban Traffic Congestion to Business, transportation research board
journal, Vo. 3. pg2
[4] Highway capacity manual, 2000. Compile from exhibit 24-2 pg 24
[5] Jerome D. et. al (2005). Human geography: Landscapes of Human activities, eight edition. McGraw-Hill 1221 avenue, New
York, America Ppg. 324
[6] P. N. NDOKE (2011) Traffic Control by Traffic Wardens in Minna, Department of Civil Engineering, Federal University of
Technology, Minna, Nigeria, “mailto:jemeandoke@yahoo.com
[7] Transportation Research Board, Special Report 2009: Highway Capacity Manual, National Research Council, Washington D.C.,
Chapter 9, p. 4-6, 1985.
[8] Us Department of Transportation (2005) : Traffic Congestion and Reliability:
Trends and Advanced Strategies for Congestion Mitigation
[9] World Bank economy report (2014) “http://www.worldbank.com/economy/nigeria/ph.p”
[10] Hincol (2012) from www.hincol.com
