This is to help ease road traffic and create access for motorists and commuters.

The three-kilometre remedial project involves asphalting the untarred road portions from the Nungua Barrier in the Krowor Municipality to the Sakumono Estate Junction in the Tema West Municipality.

The project, which includes 19-kilometre inner roads within the Nungua enclave, is expected to be completed within two months.

Speaking during a visit to the site at Nungua yesterday, the Minister of Roads and Highways, Francis Asenso-Boakye, said he directed the DUR to engage local contractors to repair sessions that had deteriorated to reduce the drudgery motorists went through daily on the deteriorated roads.

“We are aware that this project is causing inconveniences to motorists, commuters and residents. In fact, this area is a strategic location in terms of population density and businesses. That is why the government is implementing such a major intervention,” he said.

Rationale for delays

Mr Asenso-Boakye explained that the project was expected to have been completed in February last year, but suffered delays due to the ongoing debt restructuring programme with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

“It achieved about 85 per cent completion rate when the contractor left the site, and since then, the road has seen major deterioration,” he said. The minister added that the three-tier interchange project formed part of the 31-kilometre major road works that had been divided into two lots.

The first lot is a 14-kilometre Osu to Boade Junction while the second is the 17-kilometre Boade Junction to Tema Community Three.

ALSO READ:

• ‘Manholes, valleys’ on Nungua-Tema road pose threat to motorists [Photos]
• Roads Minister orders immediate repairs to Nungua Interchange roads

Manholes and potholes have suddenly emerged on portions of the road, impeding the smooth movement of vehicles.

Drivers who ply the road described the situation as challenging and causing a lot of damage to their cars which has also increased the cost of maintenance.

According to them, the situation has a toll on them as they have to stay in heavy vehicular traffic daily.

On a visit to the Junction Mall area, Adomoline‘s photojournalist, Joseph Odotei, observed a deep narrow valley filled with water on the stretch.

Many of the motorists using that route to and from Tema had to bump their vehicles into the deep valley filled with water to pass.

Two men were, however, present to assist in the easy flow of the huge traffic formed on the stretch by collecting the muddy water filled in the manholes.

Some motorists expressed worry over the situation and appealed to the relevant authorities to fix the bad road and complete the interchange which is under construction but has been abandoned.

Adomonline’s Joseph Odotei captured these scenes during the visit:

Until February 2023, persons travelling from Ashaiman, Tema Beach road and Spintex road through the construction site of the Nungua interchange towards Accra central, were filled with hope and joy in anticipation of great relief from the notorious traffic which has since time immemorial characterized the intersection at Nungua Barrier.

It has been one of the major road projects in Accra which have seen continuous progress. When asphalt works were done on certain critical portions of the stretch, it promised to be a smooth, traffic-free fast drive from any destination headed towards the central business district.  The joy of commuters has been short-lived.

The construction buzz that had characterized the site at the beginning of the project has died down, with no construction workers or machinery on site, and the project left uncompleted.

Now what was to be the panacea to the heavy traffic that had been typical of the Nungua Barrier stretch has instead created new problems for commuters.

The road beneath the uncompleted interchange is untarred, very dusty and undulating, and when it rains, water collects in huge pond-like puddles making the traffic situation even worse and wreaking havoc to vehicles.

As a major urban road linking the harbour city to the central business district, this route is the only alternative to the Tema Motorway.  It is typical, therefore, to see heavy-duty trucks, container-bearing articulated trucks, cargo trucks, tipper trucks, commercial busses, cabs, as well as private vehicles all resorting to this route to reach their destinations.

Thus, it is life-threatening for other road users to be driving beside or behind these container-bearing trucks, squeezing their way through the narrow-potholes-ridden stretch due to the slow pace of work.

A greater part of the auxiliary link leading towards Sakumono has also been eaten away by flood waters eroding deep into the preparatory ground works done so far on the road and inundating the lower part of passing vehicles further causing worry for drivers.

The Municipal Chief Executive of the Krowor Municipality, Joshua Bortey, speaking to JoyNews’ Emefa Atiamoah-Eli, acknowledged the inconvenience of the road users while assuring he is taking urgent steps to ease their frustration, particularly regarding the area right beneath the interchange where the pool of water is always collected as a result of recent downpours.

Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia cut sod for the construction in 2021.

Information available to JoyNews indicates that the project was initially scheduled for commissioning in April 2023.

Well, with the absence of construction equipment and contractors on site, the April deadline is obviously not feasible.