Twifo Praso bridge falling apart

The bridge on the Pra River at Twifo Praso in the Central Region needs urgent repairs before disaster strikes.

Fallen wooden planks have left holes on the bridge.

Hundreds of commuters use the bridge “with their hearts in their mouths.

” Residents say they would have stopped using the bridge if they had options.

The dusty roads in the town, particularly the one leading to the bridge, is an additional nightmare for travellers and other road users.

Kese Kwam sells ice cream near the bridge and said, “sometimes we hear wood falling off into the water beneath.

We know the bridge has become dangerous. Anything can happen at anytime”.

Kwam has to use a nose mask to reduce the amount of dust he inhales.

Socio-economic relevance

The bridge has a very significant socio-economic relevance to the people. It links Praso to major communities, including Assin Fosu and Dunkwa on-Offin.

Many heavy duty trucks which carry, timber, food stuffs and passengers use the bridge.

Residents of several other smaller communities such as Ateiku, Akyempim and Ayinase who come to trade in Twifo Praso also use the bridge.

Mr Kwame Tawiah lives on the other side of the bridge and has a shop on the Twifo Praso side of the bridge and, therefore, crosses the bridge every day.

“Doing this every day scares me. We don’t have to wait for something bad to happen. The bridge must be repaired," he stated.

DCE worried

It is not only the residents that are concerned. The District Chief Executive of Twifo Atti Mokwa, Mr Robert Agyemang Nyantakyi, is worried about the state of the bridge.

“About a week ago, a truck nearly fell in the river.

We had to quickly do some repair works,” he stated.

He said although the assembly was extremely worried about the state of the bridge, it did not have the “financial muscle” to construct a new bridge.

Mr Nyantakyi said the district had been promised a new bridge to replace the old dilapidated one.

 Kesse Kwarm wearing a face mask to protect him from the dust

The contract

According to the DCE, the contract had been given to a Chinese contractor and work was expected to begin last year but the contractor had failed to report on site giving financial reasons.

The Paramount Chief for the area, Nana Kwesi Kenin, is outraged about the many empty promises by government after government to construct the bridge.

“I don’t know what politicians think of us.

The NDC promised and failed.

The President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, himself, promised to ensure the bridge is constructed.

We are still waiting on that promise. Every one of them will come and use the bridge as a campaign promise again as we approach elections.

It is a very serious and disturbing issue,” he stated.

He said many communities used the bridge and it was only needful that the bridge was given attention as a matter of urgency.