Work progresses on Nkrumah Circle Interchange

Work on the multi-million dollar Kwame Nkrumah Circle Interchange is expected to be completed by the end of September, weeks ahead of the scheduled date of the first week in October this year.

The Director of the Department of Urban Roads (DUR), Mr Abass Awolu, said the Brazilian contractors on the project were working steadily, while funding was also readily available to take care of all aspects as far as the construction was concerned.

Contrary to allegations that the project was delaying due to lack of funds, Mr Awolu said: “The project is a fixed-term contract and the funding had been secured even before the project started. It is slightly ahead of schedule; it was supposed to be completed in October but it will be done by September this year.”

“The Ring Road Flyover, which we are doing, is about 1.2km from the Busy Internet area all the way towards the Awudome Cemetery. Presently, we have finished all the concrete works and doing the asphalt, the expansion joints and the edge beams and all auxiliary works,” Awolu added.

Background 

The Kwame Nkrumah Interchange, estimated at 74 million Euros, is about 90 per cent complete. It involves detailed engineering and construction of the old circle into a three-tier interchange and other ancillary works, including drainage, terminals, pedestrian walkways, landscaping, among other things.

The construction of the interchange became necessary when the Kwame Nkrumah Circle, which handled over 84,000 vehicles from the arterial roads and their intersections daily, created heavy traffic in the area. 

The completion of the project will, among other things, ease traffic and reduce travel time and vehicle operating cost to stimulate local economic growth.

Flooding

Concerning flooding in the area, Mr Awolu said there was no direct relationship between the construction of the flyover and the flooding around the area. 

He described that perception as unfortunate and asked the public to disabuse their minds of such a notion.

Mr Awolu said the issue was that once the Odaw River was full, no water from the sides could  flow into it because the river was the main drain and, therefore, water from Nima through Paloma Hotel, through the old site of the Christian Methodist Senior High School stayed behind and flowed back to other areas, causing floods. 

He said once the water receded in the Odaw, all the flood waters would enter. 

Mr Awolu also said since the water from the Odaw River also entered the Korle Lagoon, it was necessary for the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) to also dredge the lagoon to take the large volumes of water from the river.

“The work at circle is, among many other things, helping to improve the entire drainage system around the area, but if the Odaw is full, there is very little to be done,” he said.

Mr Awolu indicated that “if the Odaw River is drained consistently, it will help because the water flowing into the river comes with a lot of silt and once the river is able to accommodate it because it is dredged, it will help”.

Ministry allays fears

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Roads and Highways, acting through the DUR, has appealed to the motoring public to disregard any rumours to the effect that the Kwame Nkrumah Interchange is facing imminent collapse.

A release issued in Accra yesterday said, “We wish to place on record that the project has undergone all the necessary structural integrity tests and has proven to be structurally sound. Again, the so-called cracks on the piers are untrue and that the piers erected for the project are very strong, technically and physically.”