Release funds for Fian-Tumu road — Sissala East MP

The Member of Parliament (MP) for Sissala East, Mr Ridwan Dauda Abass, has appealed to the government to, as a matter of urgency, release money for the construction of the Fian-Tumu section of the Wa to Bolgatanga road.

He said the bad nature of the road could lead to accidents and consequent loss of lives and injury to motorists who used the road now following the closure of the Buipe and Yapei bridges to vehicular traffic.

The closure of the bridges is to make way for rehabilitation works which commenced, on Wednesday, November 22 and are expected to be completed in one month.

According to the Ghana Highway Authority (GHA), the closure of the two bridges for the rehabilitation works is due to their poor condition.

The Buipe and Yapei bridges, both located in the Central Gonja District in the Northern Region over the Black and White Volta respectively, also link the Tamale-Kintampo stretch.

The two bridges constructed in the 1960s do not only link the north to the south but also Ghana to its Sahelian neighbours such as Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger who also do not have sea ports to import and, therefore, do so through the Tema Harbour.

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Suffering motorists

Mr Abass told the Daily Graphic that motorists who used the Wa to Bolgatanga road through Tumu as a result of the diversion faced a lot of difficulties due to the  bad nature of the road.

He said more than 100 kilometres of the road from Fian to Tumu section of the Wa to Bolgatanga road which had become the alternative road was not tarred, which could result in accidents.

Mr Abass noted that armed robbers had also taken advantage of the bad nature of the road to attack motorists and rob them of their belongings, and indicated that the attacks would be worse during the Christmas period.

Recall

Last Wednesday, the Minister of Roads and Highways, Mr Kwesi Amoako-Atta, assured Parliament that the rehabilitation work on the Buipe and Yapei bridges would be expedited and completed before or within the stipulated four-week period.

He said the closure of the two bridges at this point was critical and absolutely necessary to avert the total collapse of the bridges and its ripple effect on the nation.

"We are going to work day and night without sacrificing quality to ensure that the people get value for money," he said.