Aburi-Accra road reopened to traffic

The Ghana Highway Authority (GHA) has reopened the Aburi-Accra road to traffic, three days after its closure.

When the Daily Graphic visited the area, the roadblock that prevented motorists from using the closed section of the road had been dismantled and traffic was flowing unimpeded.

The road was closed to traffic to prevent any disaster following fears of boulders falling onto that section of the road.

As a result of the closure, the traffic from Aburi to Accra was diverted to the other part of the dual carriageway of the Accra-Aburi portion of the road.

No danger

The Director of Public Affairs of the GHA, Mr Norbert Quarmor, explained that the decision to re-open the road followed further assessments which showed that the boulders did not pose any danger to motorists.

“Even though works will begin very soon to rectify the problem, we do not foresee any danger to motorists who ply the road,” Mr Quarmor said.
According to him, the affected section of the road would remain open until actual works begin in March, this year.

Works
The GHA awarded the GH¢11 million contract to CST Limited to fix the problem.
Works under the project would include slope repairs and protection for portions along the bends of the road.

As part of the project, Mr Quarmor indicated that the contractor had started geo-technical and rock survey at the site to ascertain the true nature of the problem.

“Right after this is done, actual works will begin to shield the boulders from causing any havoc to motorists,” he added.

Fix the problem
Meanwhile, the District Chief Executive of the Akuapim South District Assembly, Kwodwo Afari Djan, has called on the GHA to expedite action on the work.

He said it was unfortunate that despite numerous appeals by the assembly, the GHA had failed to rectify the problem.

“Right now, GHA has promised to repair it, but this is not the first time it has made that promise. It is very sad that people who have been paid to take care of certain problems will wait until the problem nearly becomes a catastrophe,” he stated.

“GHA must be up and doing because they do not have to wait for the situation to get out of hand before they act,” he indicated.