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Government allocates 115 billion cedis for Accra High Street
Project
Accra, Jan. 15, GNA - The Government of Ghana (GOG) has
allocated 115 billion cedis towards the construction of
selected roads within the Accra Central Business District.
The projects include the reconstruction of the Korle Lagoon
Bridge, a four-kilometre road stretching from the Lavender
Hill near Korlegonno to the Independence Square and one-way
pedestrian schemes within the Okaishie Sub District.
The Department of Urban Roads (DUR) is supervising the
project, which is being undertaken by China Railway Wuju
Group, a Chinese construction firm. Tahal Consulting
Engineers (TCE) from Israel through their local subsidiary,
Alpha Consulting is the consultant for the project.
Diversions on the road project on Monday worsened the
traffic situation in Central part to Accra and the Korle-Bu
areas and when the Ghana News Agency visited the project
site, roadblocks were mounted at various points within the
area, and personnel from the Police Motor Traffic and
Transport Unit (MTTU) were directing traffic.
Hundreds of commuters opted to walk to work instead of going
on commercial vehicles that were stuck in heavy traffic.
Mr Kwesi Nuama, Road Development Engineer from DUR, who is
in charge of the Project told the Ghana News Agency that so
far the Government had released a 22 billion cedis as
Advance Mobilization Loan (AML) to the consultants to
re-start the Project.
He said the project, which took off several years ago but
was halted due to lack of funding would now be completed in
the next 18 months, adding that the bridge bit of it would
be completed in eight months.
Mr Adrian Frantescu, Chief Executive Officer TCE, also told
the GNA that as part of the Project, the bridge at Lavender
Hill would be expanded and raised up to accommodate the back
tides from the sea waves and also be lengthened from the
current 30 metres to 66 metres.
He said the bridge would be converted into double dual
carriageway to ease traffic to and from Accra.
Mr Frantescu noted that the current state of the bridge at
Lavender Hill was a death trap, saying that it was on the
verge of collapse and that structurally it had failed.
"The bridge is too short and narrow - we are lucky that
articulator vehicles do not use this bridge, otherwise it
would have collapsed long ago," he said.
"We will construct a three span bridge, taller enough, with
several outlets to ensure easy flow of the back tide from
the sea waves."
He said in the course of the road construction only the City
Engineers office building and the walls of the Customs,
Exercise of Preventive Service offices in James Town would
be affected.
"We need to preserve the historic buildings along that
corridor and so we would not touch any of them," he said.
Mr Frantescu said the Project promises to create jobs for
both skilled and unskilled personnel in the country, saying
that at the moment all the 200 persons employed for the
Project were Ghanaians and there was a prospect of an
additional 150 jobs for the people in the James Town, Ga
Mashie, Chockor, Korlegonno.
He said while the Project was underway, the Police Motor
Traffic and Transport Unit (MTTU) would assist to ensure the
smooth flow of traffic.
Mr Frantesacu said efforts were being made to prevent the
reoccurrence of heavy traffic jams but noted that during the
project period traffic would be considerably slow within
that area.
GNA
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