Motorway Deteriorates - Patched Portions Rot Away | Social

Despite sustained public outcry, the 19-kilometre Accra-Tema Motorway continues to deteriorate and pose grave hazard to motorists.
Two years after the Daily Graphic started to spotlight the deteriorating state of the 56-year-old motorway, potholes, bitumen patches, erosion and hardened lumps from spilled concrete are nonetheless posing a hazard and discomfort to drivers and passengers who commute on it every day.

On either side of the nation's solely concrete motorway, potholes, a few of which have been patched with bitumen, have left the highway in a harmful state, particularly at evening when visibility on the stretch is poor.

About half of the road lights that have been mounted on the motorway a couple of yr in the past aren't functioning.

Situation worsens

A month-long monitoring by the Daily Graphic, as a follow-up to comparable workout routines prior to now, revealed that the scenario had solely turn out to be worse.

While the Tema-Accra stretch stays essentially the most deplorable, the portion across the Ashaiman tollbooth, the place transit vans park on the shoulders, typically for hours, has been destroyed by potholes, whereas erosion has additionally eaten into the perimeters.

The stretch simply earlier than the Abattoir Bridge, which was lately mounted, has developed potholes that pressure drivers to decelerate, creating visitors congestion all the best way to the Ashaiman under-bridge space.

accidents

On 4 events, whereas monitoring actions on the motorway for this story collection, the Daily Graphic got here throughout vehicular accidents, one among which resulted in accidents and the victims rushed to hospital.

On our current tour of the motorway every week in the past, a tanker truck driver, Raymond Nkrumah, who was seen stranded on the Tema-Accra facet, together with his car in a ditch, mentioned he had loaded the truck with diesel from the Bulk Oil and Storage Transportation Limited (BOST) in Tema and was headed for Kumasi when the truck hit a pothole, ensuing within the elimination of the tire rod.

"I hit a pothole and my tire rod was removed, tossed the vehicle from one side to the other before entering the ditch," he mentioned.

The expertise, he mentioned, was scary.

pace radar

Meanwhile, the group noticed that the National Road Safety Authority (NRSA) had put in a solar-powered digital radar pace signal on the motorway.

The pace signal was put in to make drivers conscious of the extent of their pace as they drove to assist them hold to the required pace on the motorway.

Public Outcry

Two years in the past, the Minister of Roads and Highways, Kwasi Amoako-Attah, informed the Daily Graphic that plans have been far superior for the reconstruction of the motorway to make it safer for customers.

“We are in the process of reconstructing the motorway soon to ensure the safety of road users,” he mentioned on the time.

Despite the peace of mind by the minister, the motorway has since not seen any main rehabilitation.

Rather, motorists are nonetheless confronted with the nightmare of a deteriorating motorway, prompting calls from the general public for the government to repair and restore it to its authentic state.

When contacted, the Ministry of Roads and Highways declined to touch upon the scenario besides to refer the Daily Graphic to the 2022 Mid-Year Budget evaluation in June this yr, by which the Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, gave an assurance that work on the reconstruction of the motorway would begin final two months.

“Mr Speaker, under the Ministry of Roads and Highways (MoRH) Public-Private Partnership (PPP) program for road infrastructure, the Design, Build, Finance, Operate, and Maintain (DBFOM) Accra – Tema Motorway and Extension PPP Project (27.7 km) is at the procurement stage. Site works are expected to begin in September 2022,” the minister mentioned.

The Greater Accra Regional Director of the Ghana Highway Authority (GHA), Emmanuel Laryea Odai, informed the Daily Graphic that as an interim measure, the Mobile Maintenance Unit of the GHA could be resourced to hold out periodic upkeep, whereas the government ready to reconstruct the motorway.

“The unit has been doing some work on the motorway, and that is supposed to be an interim measure to keep it running before the reconstruction work begins, as indicated by the sector minister,” he mentioned.

New contracts

A Deputy Minister of Roads and Highways, Stephen Pambiin Jalulah, additionally informed the Daily Graphic, final yr that the government was within the means of awarding the contract for the reconstruction of the motorway and the dualisation of some highways throughout the nation.

“I know that financing arrangements will soon be made for contractors to begin work on the motorway,” he mentioned.

Already, he mentioned, the contract for the design and reconstruction of the motorway from the Tema Interchange via the Apenkwa Interchange to the Neoplan Junction at Achimota had been awarded.

Recap

Since December 2020, the Daily Graphic has targeted on security on the motorway and produced six tales to spotlight a few of the acts of indiscipline that carry hazard for highway customers, in addition to the dangerous state of the highway.

The first story: "Motorway menace on increase", targeted on a few of the unlawful actions perpetrated by each motorists and squatters alongside the motorway.

That was adopted in January this yr by one other story titled: "Indiscipline unabated: Accra-Tema Motorway without rules", which additionally threw gentle on the indiscipline on the motorway that was threatening the protection of highway customers.

Another story: “The lights go dim: Accra-Tema Motorway in focus”, was revealed on April 15, 2021, to spotlight the issues of motorists over visibility on the motorway and the way difficult it was to drive on it at evening.

After the publication, the Director-General of the Ghana Standards Authority, Professor Alex Dodoo, informed the Daily Graphic that the streetlights didn't conform to the nation's normal for avenue lighting.

That revelation was then captured in a follow-up story with the headline: “Motorway lights substandard — GSA”, which was revealed on April 16, 2021.

Our consideration then shifted to the state of the motorway with a narrative that was revealed on June 1, 2022, with the headline: “A year on: Accra-Tema Motorway still in bad shape”.

Each of the tales was revealed with a variety of pictures to sign the urgency to revive the motorway to enhance security.