Human activities, construction cause traffic in Accra

Human-induced activities, gaping potholes and construction works are creating inconvenience for drivers plying urban roads and highways in the Greater Accra Region.

The worst affected are the Dr Busia Highway, which starts from Kaneshie and links the N1 at Mallam, the Tema Roundabout to Miotso stretch of the N1, the Tema Roundabout - Afienya, and the Osu -Nungua Beach road.

These are in addition to the recent rains that have exposed the situation on the roads. As a result of the human activities and construction works, huge traffic congestion occurs, especially during the morning rush hours.

Thus, instead of spending less than 30 minutes, drivers spend about an hour to use the route, thereby wasting productive time in addition to the stress that they go through. During the evening rush hours, the indiscriminate parking by commercial drivers, alighting and picking of passengers under the second Kaneshie footbridge, for instance, as well as vehicles joining the highway from the Kaneshie Church of Pentecost end to the inner lane towards Mataheko result in traffic congestion.

The Dr Busia Highway, previously known as the Kaneshie-Mallam High Street, was constructed in 1991 by Construction Pioneers (CP). The road links the Kaneshie to Odorkor and joins the National Road One (N1) at Mallam.

It was named the Dr Busia Highway after Dr Kofi Abrefa Busia, the Prime Minister of the Second Republic, who had his private residence along the road at Odorkor (Busia Junction).

Notable places on the stretch where potholes impede the free flow of traffic include the Kaneshie First Light, the Police Quarters, Atico Junction, Dansoman Junction (Hansonic), Darkuman Junction, Odorkor, Sakaman Junction and the Mallam Junction.

Visit

During a tour of the roads by the Daily Graphic team, it was observed that at Mallam Junction towards the overpass, for instance, a part of the smooth surface of the road was riddled with potholes, compelling drivers to be extra cautious so that they would not move into the lanes of other vehicles in trying to avoid the potholes.

At the Mallam Market, traders have also occupied a portion of the road used as a bus stop to display and sell their wares and other foodstuffs. This situation has compelled drivers coming from Kasoa to use one of the lanes to alight passengers at the market.

This leaves only one lane for the large number of vehicles using the road to go through. There is, therefore, gridlock from the Mallam Market towards Sakaman Junction.

A commercial bus driver who plies Dansoman-Kasoa, Ishmael Mensah, said the situation at the market needed to be controlled to ensure the free flow of vehicles. He said the police were doing their part at Sakaman Junction in the mornings and that it was incumbent on the part of the authorities at the market to control the traders so that they would not extend their activity to the road.

Parking

A passenger, who only gave his name as Francis, also blamed drivers for parking indiscriminately at the bus stop. “They just alight people anywhere at the bus stop,” he said.  
As if that is not enough, pockets of potholes have also developed towards the Sakaman Junction.  

Along the road at Darkuman Junction, the outer lane towards the Dansoman Junction is also in a deplorable state, as it is developing gullies and ponds. It, therefore, makes it impossible for those from Odorkor towards Dansoman to join the lane of those going towards Kaneshie and when they get to the traffic light they turn right towards Dansoman.

It was also noticed that potholes have developed at the junction. The Daily Graphic team also realised that part of the road at the Accra Academy side on the main Kaneshie-Odorkor Road had also been washed off and was developing potholes.

The team also noticed that part of the outer lane towards Mataheko was in a bad state and had to be filled sometimes with laterite. At Kaneshie too, some potholes had compelled drivers coming from the First Light end going towards Accra to converge on one lane, resulting in traffic congestion. 

Unbearable

From the bigger overhead footbridge to Mpamprom, the congestion becomes unbearable when rain washes off the laterite used to fill the potholes. The potholes tend to slow down the movement of vehicles in addition to pedestrians criss-crossing to and from the Abossey Okai Spare Parts Market.

Compounding the problem is the closing of the lanes towards Access Bank for the construction of a drain linking the Abossey Okai flyover. Motorists using the Dr Busia Highway have, therefore, called on the authorities to ensure the smooth flow of traffic in order to ease the time wasted on the road.

Other spots

Elsewhere, the halting of construction works on the Osu-Nungua Beach Road is creating some inconvenience to road users. At the Junction Mall Interchange, water collects into large pools all over the area whenever it rains, creating unpassable surfaces and leading to slow traffic.

Similar sights are seen around the Traffic Light at the Tema Free Zones Industrial Area where craters slow vehicular movements on the Kpone-Tema end of the dual carriageway, at the new flyover being constructed at the Kpone Junction and another one at Savanna Junction, Dawhenya.

Again, bare sections at the Ashaiman roundabout at Tulaku, the Afariwa Junction and Michel Camp, all on the Tema-Afienya road, also create unbearable traffic congestion that needs to be addressed as soon as possible.