Rehabilitation of collapsed Zorkor-Sirigu bridge progresses
Residents and commuters who ply the Zorkor-Sirigu road to Bolgatanga on a daily basis will soon heave a sigh of relief after years of struggle.
This is due to the ongoing rehabilitation of the main bridge that connects both communities to Bolgatanga.
The bridge collapsed a few years ago after it caved in while a heavy truck was crossing.
It was not immediately fixed, a development which became a source of worry to residents of more than 20 communities who travel on the road.
Several appeals by chiefs, opinion leaders and residents to the Ministry of Roads and Highways for the collapsed bridge to be reconstructed did not receive the needed attention, leaving them to their own fate.
Since the collapse of the bridge, farmers and traders have found it very difficult to transport their farm produce from the rural communities to the Bolgatanga and Sirigu markets for sale to earn their daily income.
Chief leads demonstration
In August 24, 2023, the Daily Graphic published a story when the Paramount Chief of the Sirigu Traditional Area in the Upper East Region, Naba Roland Atogumdeya Akwara III, led a demonstration by angry residents to express their displeasure over the neglect of the Zorkor-Sirigu bridge.
The portion of the bridge that collapsed
They gave the government up to September 19, 2023, to reconstruct the bridge and other bad roads in the area, or else they would be compelled to take the next line of action.
Hundreds of residents of Sirigu and other adjoining communities, including the aged and women, holding placards, took to the streets in the area to express their displeasure over the bad state of the bridge.
Some of the inscriptions on the placards read: “Pregnant women are getting miscarriages”, “Every life matters”, “President Akufo-Addo, listen to us”, “Sirigu is part of Ghana”, “Enough is enough”, “Hon. Amoako-Attah, come to our aid”, “Fix killer bridge now” and “Sirigu deserves better”.
Petition
Reading the contents of the four-page petition, Secretary to Naba Akwara, Eden Akurugu, said due to the strategic location of the town, many people visited the area, including nationals of Burkina Faso, for economic activities, tourism and to access education and health care.
A section of the reconstructed bridge
He noted that the people largely depended on the market in the town which attracted hundreds of traders to the area to trade, thereby enabling the district assembly to generate revenue from the people.
Several months after the petition, the reconstruction of the bridge has been added to the ongoing upgrading of the 6.4km Sirigu-Yua feeder phase one road project which is expected to give a facelift to that stretch of the road to bring relief to motorists.
It involves the construction of some culverts, drains and upgrading of the road.
Visit
During a recent visit by the Daily Graphic to follow up on the reconstruction of the bridge, it was observed that construction works were still ongoing.
Naba Roland Atogumdeya Akwara III (arrowed), Paramount Chief of the Sirigu Traditional Area, when he led some residents to demonstrate when there was no immediate attempt to reconstruct the bridge
The casting of concrete had been done with a few civil works yet to be completed before it could be opened to traffic.
Also, some form of dredging would be done to clear some rocks and sand within the river channel in a bid to clear the watercourse.
Such an intervention has become necessary to prevent the river from overflowing its banks during the rainy season, which has the tendency to destroy the bridge.
Details
In an interview, the Upper East Regional Manager, Department of Feeder Roads, Paa Bruku-Boateng, said the project was expected to be completed on August 1, 2025 so that users could have easy access to Bolgatanga, the regional capital, and other adjoining communities.
Particularly, he thanked the government for responding to the cry of the people after the bridge collapsed, saying: “The collapse of the bridge became a source of worry for the people since they had to go through long winding routes before getting to Bolgatanga.”
He also commended Ms Shenashe Limited, the contractor executing the project, for delivering quality work that would stand the test of time and added that plans were underway to also improve the road that links Sirigu and Zorkor in the Bongo District.
A former Assembly member for the Wugingo Electoral Area, Felix Ayibasiya, welcomed the reconstruction of the bridge, saying it would enable farmers to cart their goods as well as help traders to have easy access to markets in Sirigu and Bolgatanga to sell their wares.
Writer’s email: gilbert.agbey@graphic.com.gh
