Fix gridlock on Mallam-Kasoa road

Last Saturday, (January 11, 2020) while monitoring the news on television, I heard the Minister of Communications, Mrs Ursula Owusu Ekuful, say something to the effect that the old Winneba road, along the Chemu Lagoon through the Chorkor suburb of Accra, should be considered for reconstruction and be made accessible.

Indeed, that statement by the Communications Minister gladdened my heart because the imminent need for an alternative route from the Central Business District (CBD) of Accra to Winneba, Cape Coast and beyond is a subject that has been in my thoughts whenever I use the main Kaneshie-Mallam-Kasoa Road.

My fears have always been what alternatives would be put in place or immediate solutions provided if the bridge on the Densu River around Tetegu caves in or collapses.

I am yet to find answers to those questions, but the mention of the old Winneba road brought to the fore the need for the government and, for that matter, the Ministry of Roads and Highways, to put the issue on their agenda and find an alternative route for road users in the western part of the capital who travel towards the Central Region and beyond.

International road

The Mallam-Kasoa road was given a facelift during the administration of former President Kufuor. It was dualised to ensure the free flow of traffic and to accommodate more vehicles. Unfortunately, the siting of a tollbooth by the Densu River, a few metres to the Tuba Junction, for the collection of tolls has not served any useful purpose in relieving the burden of road users in that part of the city.

The question on the lips of many has been how on earth a tollbooth could be sited in a location with no room for the expansion of the gates and why a tollbooth would be sited in such a populated location.

Also, the number of vehicles on that stretch is beyond imagination. We must not also forget that apart from residents of Kasoa and its environs who ply the route on a daily basis, many people also travel on the road to Cape Coast and beyond and all these vehicles and their passengers endure the stress and pain of staying in traffic for several hours on a daily basis, just to pay 50 Ghana pesewas or GH¢1, depending on the type of vehicle they have.

Some passengers abandon their vehicles due to heavy traffic 

Forty minutes

After driving from the Graphic Road to the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) Junction by the Densu Lagoon within about 40 minutes, one can spend another 30 or more minutes from the GBC Junction to the tollbooth just to pay 50 pesewas or one cedi.

The time wasted, the fuel burnt and the inhalation of fumes, bodily pains experienced among other discomforts and risks just within that two-kilometre stretch does not make sense, especially in this 21st century.

After all, the median is not well maintained, street lights do not function on some parts, road markings have faded and above all there is the nuisance of hawkers.

Flooding

Another area of much concern is the Mallam bus stop on the Kaneshie to Kasoa side of the road, which becomes flooded and is rendered impassable whenever it rains. This ritual compounds the vehicular traffic situation, thereby compelling drivers to spend hours just to cross that spot. Similarly, the SCC junction and the old barrier section also get flooded on both sides when it rains.

Regrettably, after spending about half an hour in traffic from the Kasoa end towards Accra during the rainy season, one drives about 100 metres from the booth only to be confronted with a landslide blocking the road with mud and water.

Traffic Management

The Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD) of the Ghana Police Service, the Weija -Gbawe and the Ga South Municipal Assemblies and the Ministry of Roads and Highways must live up to their responsibilities. With their intervention, the traffic situation could be managed to ease the pressure on drivers and vehicles in general.

During rush hours, especially in the evening, police traffic wardens must be positioned to stay to as late as 10 p.m. to ensure the free flow of traffic from Mallam through Weija Junction.

At times, no vehicle joins the main road from the Weija direction, yet those heading towards Kasoa from Mallam towards Weija direction are in gridlock. In the same vein, the traffic light at Tetegu and the rumble strips do not help matters, as they slow down driving and compound the traffic problem.

Authorities must be firm and enforce the laws to the letter. Traders who sell on the road at the Mallam Market must be moved.

Commercial drivers who have turned the same section of the Mallam Market into a loading bay must be arrested to open up that side of the road to enhance vehicular movement.

Writer’s E-mail: chrisnunoo@gmail.com