The Ghana Highway Authority (GHA) will award the ‘Aburi falling rocks’ contract at the end of this month to one of the four construction companies that bid for the project.
The contractor to be awarded the job will be required to stabilise the slope and halt the fall of boulders, which now pose a danger to the travelling public, particularly vehicles on the Aburi-Accra section of the road.
The Deputy Chief Executive of the GHA in charge of Development, Mr Fred Joe Peseo, told the Daily Graphic that the authority had reached the final stage of selecting a contractor to work on the project.
“We have now reached the final stage and requesting for financial proposals from the companies,” he stated. In the interim, he said, the Greater Accra Regional Office of the GHA was monitoring the situation, so that it could move in to clear debris of rocks that might fall on the main carriageway.
Mr Peseo explained that the four companies submitted technical proposals which helped the authority to establish the specifications and requirements of the project.
“We have given them our bill of quantities to price and we are optimistic of awarding the contract at the end of this month,” he stated. The falling rocks Meanwhile, imminent disaster is lurking on the curvy Aburi section of the Accra-Aburi road on the Akuapem Ridge as boulders perch precariously on one another, ready to fall at the least disturbance onto the Accra-bound section of the road.
A visit to Aburi revealed that the rocks were now falling at an alarming rate and could give way soon unless urgent measures were taken to address the problem.
Alternative not in top shape While the Aburi-Accra road faces imminent closure, the only alternative leading to the Akuapem Ridge that hosts the Presidential lodge is not yet in shape.
“The Dome-Kwabenya-Brekusu-Kitase road was awarded to Facol Roads in December 2011 for completion in 2013,” the Greater Accra Regional Director of the GHA, Mr Collins Donkor, stated.
A drive on the 14-km road, however, showed that not much work had been done, with sections of the road ridden with potholes or being rocky, making driving on it torturous.
Source: Daily Graphic