Traders ‘invade’ median of Awoshie-Pokuase road

Some traders have already mounted tables and other structures on the median of some sections of the Awoshie-Pokuase road even before its completion in about seven months.

The growing encroachment is most severe at built-up areas such as Anyaa, Ablekuma and Fan Milk.

Traders and food vendors are selling roasted corn, plantain and groundnut, sachet water, white boards, among other items.

Aside from the obvious risks these traders are exposing themselves to, the situation is also an eyesore on the yet-to-be-completed road.

The Awoshie-Pokuase Road spans three municipal assemblies, the Ga South, the Ga West and the Ga Central and it appears they have some work at hand in dispersing these traders before they take over the entire stretch upon the completion of the road.

The wide median

Many people have questioned the rationale for creating such a wide median but officials of the Department of Urban Roads, (DUR) have explained that the road was designed with the wide median to protect it for future development such as the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT).

“In the past, road reservations have been left on its shoulders but encroachers found it more convenient to build structures, sometimes permanent ones, on the reservation,” the Director of Urban Roads, Mr Abass Awolu, told the Daily Graphic.

“DUR is to collaborate with the relevant stakeholders to ensure that the median remained free from trading and hawking activities upon completion and subsequent handover,” he said.

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The project so far

Extensive work has been carried out on both sections of the project. Currently, progress made on the section one is 89.70 per cent as against a scheduled progress of 90 per cent.

Similarly, section two is 93.03 per cent as against a planned progress of 93.94 per cent.

The first section,  a three-kilometre, three-lane dual carriageway, is being executed by China Jiangxi Corporation for International Economic and Technical Co-operation. It begins from the Awoshie Junction to Palas Junction at Anyaa. 

China Railway Wuju (Group) Corporation is also working on the 12.2-kilometre road from Anyaa to Pokuase under the second phase of the project.

The Director of the Department of Urban Roads (DUR), Mr Abass Awolu, made this known during a visit by representatives of the two major financiers, the Agence Francaise de Development (AFD) and the African Development Bank (AfDB), to the two projects.

The Acting Project Co-ordinator, Mr Richard Boadi, who gave the figures, explained that, works on the main carriageway had almost been completed. 

Meanwhile drainage works and the construction of a retaining wall at CP have been completed.

Mr Boadi indicated that the contractors on both sections were now focusing on the provision of street lights and traffic signalisation at critical intersection. 

Those aspects of the project, he explained, were important to ensure maximum safety on the corridor. 

Background

The 15-km Awoshie-Pokuase road serves hundreds of commuters in the growing Ga South communities and beyond. 

The stretch facilitates cross-border international traffic as it links the Tema-Ouagadougou-Bamako corridor with the Trans-West African Coastal Highway.

It was,  in a deplorable condition, slowing down socio-economic activities prior to the reconstruction.

However, with construction of the road the tortuous journey has now given way to a smooth ride from the Awoshie Junction to Pokuase while travel time has also reduced.