New bridges to be constructed at Buipe, Yapei

Work is to start on two new bridges over the Black Volta at Buipe and the White Volta at Yapei, both in the Central Gonja District in the Savannah Region.

The two bridges will replace existing ones, while a third one is to be built at Daboya to serve as an alternative route from the north to the south.

The Minister of Roads and Highways, Mr Kwesi Amoako Atta, who announced this at a press conference in Tamale yesterday, said the contractor for the two bridges had moved to site to commence work.

Funding

The minister said funding had also been secured for the projects from a German development banking group, the KfW Group, estimated at about $68 million.

Mr Amoako Atta said the bridges would be constructed beside the existing ones to allow for the free flow of traffic, while work was going on along that stretch.

“These bridges are of economic and social importance not only to Ghana but also our landlocked neighbours,” he said.

He said the project had become necessary because the two existing ones that were constructed in the 1960s had outlived their lifespan.

In November 2017, the Buipe and the Yapei bridges were closed to vehicular traffic for maintenance.

The closure lasted for over a month and created inconvenience for commuters on that portion of the highway.

Ongoing works

On ongoing road infrastructure works in the Northern Region, Mr Amoako Atta said 65 projects which were under construction were at various stages of completion.

They included the 52-km Gushegu-Nalerigu road, the 57.8-km River Bank-Nakpali-Zabzugu road, the 10-km Kumbungu-Tolon road, the 73-km Salaga-Bimbilla road and the 45.3-km Salaga-Ekumdipe-Kpandai road.

He said 66km of roads in the Tamale metropolis and the Sagnarigu municipality had also been overlaid with bitumen, while 40km of roads within the metropolis would also be asphalted.

On the Tamale Interchange project, the minister said about 40 per cent of work had been completed.