[ 2017-02-24 ]

Artist impression of the overpass at the Pokuase-Ofankor Junction

Work on Pokuase interchange to begin in September
Work on an interchange at Pokuase in the Ga West
Municipality in the Greater Accra Region is
scheduled to begin by September this year. The
project, estimated to cost $94.8 million, is being
financed by the African Development Bank (AfDB) as
part of a comprehensive integrated urban
transportation system to improve urban mobility.

Designed to fit into the Central Corridor road
infrastructure project, the interchange will link
Accra- Nsawam, Awoshie-Pokuase, and
Pokuase-Kwabenya-Ritz Junction roads, and also
connect the Tema Motorway.

There will be eight lanes underneath the
three-tier interchange, including some key
features such as connecting roads, provisions for
the Mass Rapid Transit and rail
transportexpansion.

The interchange will also include community
support interventions such as the provision of
Information Communication Technology (ICT)
equipment to 14 schools, support to local women
groups in ICT training, and other social impact
programmes.

When completed, the facility is expected to ease
traffic congestion, benefit factories and
agro-industries located within the project zone,
and create job and other socio-economic
opportunities to improve the livelihood of
people.

The journey

Feasibility study and preliminary work on the
project, including funding sources and
parliamentary approval, were made by the former
President John Mahama-led government.

To demonstrate the commitment of the current
government to implement the arrangements that had
been done by the previous government, the Minister
of Roads and Highways, Mr Kwesi
Amoako-Atta,inspected the project site last
Wednesday.

The minister's entourage included the Chief
Director of the Ministry of Roads and Highways,
Ing. Godwin Brocke, the Director of the Department
of Urban Roads, Dr Abass Awolu, and other
officials of the ministry.

Mr Amoako-Atta expressed satisfaction about the
groundwork that had been done for the smooth take
off of the project and added that efforts ought to
be made to ensure that all stakeholders were
involved in order to remove all hindrances for the
efficient execution of the project.

Encroachment

From the Pokuase interchange site, the team also
visited some road projects in the area, including
the Pokuase- Kwabenya, Kwabenya-Mango lane (Old
Ashongman), connecting Agbogba, as well as the
Fiesta Royal-Legon Botanical Garden roads.

It was observed that most of the roads in the area
were in bad shape, while the encroachment
activities of private estate developers posed a
great threat to expansion work on the roads.

Mr Amoako-Atta expressed reservations about the
situation and called for inter-ministerial
collaboration to address that challenge.

Collaboration

He said it was important for the metropolitan,
municipal and district assemblies (MMDAs) to
liaise with the appropriate ministries in order to
devise a holistic approach to deal with the
situation.

He further asked the technocrats at the MRH to
open discussions with the Electricity Company of
Ghana (ECG), Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL),
and Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCO) to ensure
effective relocation of their service lines in
order to make way for the construction works.

For his part, Ing. Brocke, said the Ministry of
Highways would engage all stakeholders to ensure
that the construction of the Pokuase and other
road projects did create inconvenience to
residents and members of the public.

He gave the assurance that technocrats at the
ministry would do due diligence to ensure that the
road infrastructure being undertaken was properly
done.

Source - Graphic Online.com

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