Pedestrians continue to lose lives as footbridges on Adentan Highway remain uncompleted

The dual carriage, 5.6-kilometre highway, linking the eastern part of the country to the Tetteh Quarshie Interchange, is still posing challenges to pedestrians.

Challenges in crossing the highway persists more than two years after the  Daily Graphic reported of the government’s inaction in completing footbridges and accidents on the stretch.

Although accidents have reduced over the period, with just a few accidents on the highway due to improved traffic management, students, workers and commuters struggle daily to cross.

Information from the Ghana Highway Authority (GHA) was not encouraging, with officials there indicating some plans, but not being definite about them.

However, the Adentan Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD) Divisional Commander, ASP Benjamin Buxton said the footbridges were needed for students of the West African Secondary School (WASS) and other students, as well as workers, who commute daily to and from schools and communities along the highway.

Management

In an interview with the Daily Graphic, ASP Buxton said during rush hours, the full complement of his men were positioned in all the areas under their jurisdiction to manage vehicular and human traffic.

The divisional jurisdiction stretches to Frafraha on the Dodowa road, as well as Ayi Mensah and Pantang on the Aburi road.

At some points on the stretch, the Adentan MTTD division has accident squads to ensure safety and monitor traffic

ASP Buxton said he did not have enough men to patrol the stretch for 24 hours, thus, sometimes, while his officers were in other areas seeing to accidents, pedestrians had to cross the highway.

During rush hours, though, his officers ensured the management of traffic to pull vehicles bound for the city easily from the area.

In the evenings too, officers of the MTTD are at hand to pull traffic  towards Aburi and its environs.

Signages

Apart from a shortage of men, ASP Buxton said some lanes in the metropolis did not have the requisite signages.

The department was, therefore, liaising with the La-Nkwantang Municipal Assembly to ensure that proper signs were placed on pedestrian, cycle and service lanes.

Caution

ASP Buxton said most accidents were due to drivers not being cautious on the roads.

“Drivers should drive with an understanding of the language of the road,” ASP Buxton said.

For instance, he indicated that on approaching a traffic light, drivers had to slow down, however, most drivers drove at top speed, ignoring the 50-km limit sign on approaching the light.

Commuters

Random interviews with commuters showed that crossing the stretch was a Herculean task daily.

Some parents with toddlers or babies strapped to their backs sometimes had to set their babies on the concrete border before climbing onto it themselves.

Schoolchildren most often have to solicit the help of adults to manoeuvre the highway.

Parents with children schooling across the highway said they lived with a prayer always on their lips for safety to and from school for their children.

Background

In July, 2015, the Daily Graphic reported that 113 road accidents occurred on the main Adentan-Pantang Junction road in 10 months; that is between August 2014 and June 2015.

The accidents claimed eight lives, while 44 people and 61 others sustained serious and minor injuries, respectively.

Fifty of the accidents took place at the SDA Junction at Adentan, while 26 occurred at the Adentan Barrier Intersection, 17 at the Dodowa Junction and 20 at the Pantang Junction.

Seventeen pedestrians were knocked down at various sections of the road, with about six uncompleted footbridges from Adentan to Zongo Junction.

Another publication in the Saturday, August 23, 2014 issue of the Daily Graphic said 20 people lost their lives in 231 accidents at various sections of the road between January and June, 2014.

The Minister of Roads then, Alhaji Inusah Fuseini, in an interview published in the July 1, 2015 issue of the Daily Graphic, said safety was a priority to the ministry in the construction of roads.

Writer’s email: caroline.boateng@graphic.com.gh