Construction works on Awoshie - Pokuase road pose problems
Construction works on the Awoshie Pokuase Road are progressing steadily but at great inconvenience to motorists.
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A five- minute journey from Barn yard to Odorgonno now takes 30 minutes to an hour due to the poor surface of the diversion route provided by the contractor working on the first section of the road.
Messrs China Jiangxi Corporation for International Economic and Technical Co-operation is working on the first section of the road, which is a three-kilometre, three-lane dual carriageway, beginning from Awoshie to Anyaa.
The works for this section are being executed at a cost of GH¢ 6,813,982.00 and $15,612,381.94. The original completion date is the end of June, 2013 but due to some additional work, there is the likelihood that the completion date will be extended.
Meanwhile, China Railway Wuju (Group) Corporation also begins the construction of the 12.2 kilometre road from Anyaa to Pokuase at the cost of GH¢ 77,030,103.20.
The complaints
Aside the go-slow posed by the poor condition of the diversion route there are other challenges.
Madam Lucy Addo, a regular motorists on the stretch and a resident of Ablekuma, described her experience on the road in recent times as frustrating, especially from Odorgonno to Barn yard.
According to her, the stretch has become chaotic, and with inadequate road signs, it is difficult to ply it now.
She accused the contractor of not maintaining the diversion route provided for motorists, thereby reducing speed and significantly increasing vehicular congestion.
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Madam Addo and others who move from Ablekuma towards Accra leave home as early as 5:00 a.m. just to beat the increasing vehicular congestion.
“The evening trips back home are no better,” she says.
She complained that the contractor also prevented them from using completed sections of the road, limiting them to the untarred road. That situation, she indicated, also contributed significantly to the traffic congestion.
The experiences of Madam Addo sum up the frustrations motorists go through on the road, as Ms Rebecca Kwei also shared a similar experience with the Daily Graphic.
The Explanation
“Managing traffic with road works can be dangerous and that is why we have heaped sand in the median to segregate the traffic from the works,” the Project Co-ordinator, Mrs Akua Sakyibea Vander-Pallen, told the Daily Graphic during a site inspection.
Mrs Vander-Pallen, who is also the Principal Engineer, Planning, at the Department of Urban Roads (DUR), said the work on the road was going on even though some of the sections appeared to have been completed. “Some of the roads have been blocked because work is still going on,” she stated.
She, however, conceded that the surface provided for motorists was rough and promised to get the contractor to work on it in order to improve on its quality.
During the inspection, most road signs which should have been available such as ‘Slow down’, ‘Turn left’, ‘Turn right’, ‘Construction area’,’ keep off’, ‘Men at Work’, ‘Road closed ahead’, Right lane closed ahead’, ‘Stop’ were absent.
The Resident Engineer for the Awoshie-Pokuase Road and Community Development Project, Mr Djaye Simeon N’Dri, gave an assurance that road signs would be made more visible to help motorists and pedestrians to safely navigate their way on the stretch.
The project
The 15-kilometre Awoshie-Pokuase Road and Community Development Project started in November, 2011.
The entire project is estimated at Euros 92.41 million; that is, the main road works and the community upgrading infrastructure.
Construction works on the Awoshie-Pokuase Road and community development project are jointly being funded by the Government of Ghana, Agence Francaise de Development (AFD) and the African Development Bank (AfDB).
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The road works involve the construction of a three-lane dual carriage road from Awoshie to Odorgonno and a two-lane dual carriage from Odorgonno to Olebu. The design also provides for two service lanes, walkway and bicycle lane along the entire stretch of the road.
Work done so far
Progress of work on the first section is pegged at 70 per cent after 16 months into the construction and that on the phase two is 45 per cent.
According to Mrs Vander-Pallen, work on four major culverts has been completed whilse the application of asphalt has also been done. Drainage and the construction of retaining walls were also going on at the time of the visit.
Story: Naa Lamiley Bentil
Writer’s email: naa.bentil@graphic.com.gh
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