By Kingsley Chukwuka
A candidate for the Plateau State House of Assembly, under the platform of the All Progressive Congress (APC), in the 2023 general elections, Mr. Sunday Mark, has said he will push for a legislation that will create alternative bypass for articulated vehicles plying the city center.
He said the incessant accidents caused by heavy duty vehicles within the metropolis have become too frequent over the years, claiming lives that cannot not be quantified.
Mark stated this in Jos on Sunday while reacting to the accident caused by an oil truck, at the popular Polo Roundabout, which ignited an inferno killing the driver and his assistant.
The inferno which burnt down the University of Jos Veterinary Teaching Hospital, also left a nearby filling station and an eatery burnt, our correspondent reports.
However, Mark who seeks to represent the people of Jos North-West State Constituency, if elected, said the bypass if created would score the State Government high in taking proactive measures to safeguard lives and properties.
“I intend to push for legislation that will mandate the State Government to create a bypass for articulated vehicles to stop them from plying the township roads.
“The articulated vehicles have caused many accidents, particularly around Hill Station Junction, Gada Biyu and Polo Roundabout”, he said.
According to him, “I will also push for the State Government to also construct parks for heavy-duty trucks and trailers.
“By the time we achieve this, the city centre will be free from heavy duty vehicles causing accidents and gridlock,’’ Mark said.
He advised however that before the bypass would be created, articulated vehicles should be regulated to ply only at night.
Mark lauded the State Governor, Simon Lalong, for visiting the scene of the accident to see things for himself.
“I believe that before this government leaves office next year, many areas will be linked with bypass if the construction starts in earnest”, he said.