UPDATE: Two Nkrumah flyovers open; whole project due for completion 2016
The President, Mr John Dramani Mahama, officially opened two flyovers at the new Kwame Nkrumah Circle Interchange yesterday with an assurance that the entire project will be ready for inauguration by the middle of 2016.
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The opening of the flyovers, Christened ‘Nsawam Bridge’ and ‘Akasanoma Bridge’, is expected to ease traffic at the construction area and especially bring huge relief to commuters on the Nsawam-Accra corridor.
It would also enable contractors for the project, Quiroz Galvao, a Brazilian firm, to move some of the traffic to the two flyovers and create space for the remaining works to be done.
A large number of people turned out at the project site to witness the brief but impressive ceremony.
The project, which started in 2013, is being financed with a Brazilian facility.
Ancillary projects
The President said the interchange would have a huge statue of the first President, Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah, a beautiful fountain, a police post, new lorry parks and a green environment.
He said the government was undertaking a number of other road projects to further address congestion and improve the capacity of roads in the national capital.
Among them was the Eastern corridor where the rehabilitation of the Giffard Road from 37 Military Hospital to the La Beach was almost complete.
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The Burma Camp Road that links the Spintex Road, as well as the connection of the Burma Camp Road to the Teshie Lake Road were all in advanced stages of completion.
The completion of these roads, he said, would hugely bring relief to commuters in the eastern part of the city.
Mr Mahama also said the rehabilitation of the Awoshie-Pokuase road was progressing and would improve access to the western part of Accra when completed.
Added to the Awoshie-Pokuase road project were the various community infrastructure projects like schools, hospitals and lorry parks, which were also expected to be completed by the end of this year.
Bus Rapid Transit
President Mahama said the Bus Rapid Transit system between Amasaman and Accra would be ready for take-off soon and added that one of the flyovers at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle Interchange would carry some of the traffic of the system.
He stated that new bus terminals at Ofankor and Amasaman were being provided while the remodelling of sections of the Achimota terminal and bus shelters was on course.
He said there would be an exclusive lane from Farisco to Tudu as well as the upgrade of the traffic lights along the corridor.
President Mahama disclosed that the first buses to use the corridor had arrived and were undergoing test runs on the corridor and expectations were that the system would take off by the end of this year.
He further indicated that asphalt overlay works on about 76 kilometres of roads in Accra would take off in the next few weeks.
He thanked the contractors for the good work they were doing and expressed the hope that they would continue with it.
President Mahama later inspected work on the dredging of the Odaw River.