Danger looms on Amasaman-Nsawam road

Drivers and commuters have asked the Ghana Highway Authority (GHA) to, as a matter of urgency, rehabilitate the Amasaman-Dobro stretch of the Accra-Nsawam Highway to avoid accidents.

The rehabilitation of the Accra-Nsawam highway, the drivers and commuters said would reduce road accident on the stretch, save lives and help reduce the cost of maintaining vehicles using the road.

The drivers also entreated the GHA to find a lasting solution to the dumping of sand and mud from a nearby mountain, through erosion, onto the Hebron section of the Accra-Nsawam Highway whenever it rained, claiming there is looming danger for drivers, commuters and residents of Hebron if the problem was not addressed.

Some drivers and commuters using the road, who made the call in an interview with the Ghanaian Times, said the numerous potholes on the Amasaman-Dobro road was impeding vehicular movement and putting the lives of drivers and commuters at risk.

A trotro driver, Peter Mensah said the increasing potholes on the road posed a serious risk to drivers and passengers, adding that the bad nature of the road was contributing to the high cost of running their businesses.

He said drivers found it difficult to traverse the Hebron section of the Accra-Nsawam road due to the erosion and the collection of sand on the road whenever it rained heavily.

“Even though the sand is cleared after raining, there is the need to find a permanent solution to the problem,” he said.

A commuter, John Avaga said it had become difficult to ply the Amasaman-Dobro and Hebron stretch due to potholes and washing of sand on the road whenever it rained heavily, saying “cars normally get stuck in the mud when they get to that section of the road.”

When the Ghanaian Times visited the Hebron section of the Accra-Nsawam Highway yesterday morning, the workers of GHA Nsawam Office were seen clearing the sand and mud to facilitate vehicular movement.

A source at the Nsawam Office of the GHA who pleaded anonymity said the pouring of sand and mud onto the road was being caused by human activities.

It said some developers had created illegal roads to join the main road and had also blocked the outflow drain and culvert which carry flood water into the nearby Dobro River, and as a result whenever it rained flood water carrying mud and sand inundate the main road.

He said some developers had filled both banks of the Dobro River crossing the Accra-Nsawam road with sand, thus impeding the free flow of the river.

The source said the Nsawam Office of the GHA would meet the developers and owners of the business along the Hebron stretch to find a lasting solution to the problem.

It appealed to the Municipal and District Assemblies to consult Highways before giving permit for people to build along highways.

The source said the contract for the maintenance of the Amasaman-Dobro had halted because, there was the need to vary the scope of work to include the construction of outflow drains to prevent flood water from inundating the road it rained.

It said the contractors could not start work due to financial challenges.

The Accra-Nsawam road is an important international route that connects the south to the north of the country and other Sahelian countries such as Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger.

The road which was a single lane and was reconstructed into a dual carriageway in the early 2000  to ensure free flow of traffic in and out of the national capital, Accra.

Since its reconstruction, the road has not seen major rehabilitation resulting in the deterioration of the section of the stretch.

FROM KINGSLEY ASARE & ANITA NYARKO- YIRENKYI, DOBRO