Work on Pokuase interchange to begin 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.
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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.
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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.
Dr Abass Awolu (2nd right), the Director of the Department of Urban Roads, explaining a point to Mr Kwesi Amoako Atta (2nd left), the Minister of Roads and Highways, at the Pokuase-Ofankor Junction. PICTURE: INNOCENT K. OWUSU
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.