Roads Minister satisfied with Madina-Adentan footbridges

The Minister of Roads and Highways, Mr Kwasi Amoako-Atta, has expressed satisfaction with the Madina-Adentan footbridges, indicating that they are safe and convenient for pedestrian use.

According to him, the bridges were of international standard and all who used them were not going to encounter any difficulties, particularly, persons with disabilities.

The minister stated this when he embarked on a familiarisation tour of the six footbridges on the Madina to Adentan stretch of the N4 Highway.

The tour was also to inspect progress of construction works so far on the six bridges.

He went on the tour with some officials from the ministry and some contractors.

Observations

During the about two-hour inspection, it was observed that the concrete structures of all the bridges were solid with no signs of danger to users and the slopes were gentle from start to finish ostensibly for persons with disabilities.

All the bridges had galvanised punch sheets fixed on the rails to prevent users from falling.

Only one of the six bridges had been completed; three were about 90 per cent completed, but had been opened to the public.

The contractors of the two other bridges stated that they were faced with several challenges, including limited space and underground utility cables, causing delays in the work.

They, however, gave the assurance that by the end of this month they were going to be ready for use.

Long distance

Mr Amoako -Atta justified the length of the bridges against claims by some individuals that they were too lengthy.

“All the bridges are very friendly to people, particularly to people with disability, it only takes a maximum of about two minutes to complete the distance and can anybody compare two minutes to being knocked down by a car?” he queried.

“Previously, people were being knocked down by cars when crossing the road and we don’t want to lose a single life on this stretch and that is the main reason why these bridges are being constructed,” Mr Amoako Atta added.

Safety

The minister further mentioned that they were going to take legal action against individuals, who would attach posters or mount bill boards on the bridges, adding that “foot bridges are not meant for advertisement.”

He added that officers would be deployed at the various bridges to prevent hawking and other illegal activities.

Assurance

He assured the contractors that the government was going to ensure that they were provided with the needed resources to enable them to meet the deadline.