The Ministry for Roads and Highways has ordered squatters along the Tema Motorway Roundabout to relocate immediately to pave way for the construction of the interchange at the roundabout.
The Ministry says nothing must hinder the progress of the construction hence the need to evict the squatters.
[contextly_sidebar id=”Emltoz3R2EupIYvq7Hp0UWHAOiGcBV32″]The Roads Ministry acting through the Ghana Highway Authority received a Japanese grant for the construction of the first phase of the interchange.
Addressing the press after an inspection tour, sector minister Kwesi Amoako Atta, said the project will be completed within 28 months.
“This project is supposed to last 28 months. This is a national project and nobody will be allowed for whatever reason to stand in the way of this project,” he declared.
The Minister had earlier told Citi News that he will ensure that all squatters along the motorway are evicted before April 2018, to enable the road expansion project move at a fast pace.
The Tema Motorway, which some have argued that it no longer serves its purpose, has been reduced to a highway due to uncontrolled human activities such as illegal settlements and illegal bus stops created along the stretch.
There are at least more than ten points along the Motorway where commercial and private vehicle drivers stop to pick up or drop off passengers and goods.
A vast portion of the land has also been encroached upon by squatters located on the shoulders of the road.
Some residential and industrial facilities have also been constructed along the road. They included churches, warehouses and shops.
The motorway, which also suffers the general lack of functioning street lights in the country, has seen several accidents caused by drivers who due to poor vision crash into encroachers along the road.
About the Tema Motorway
The 19-kilometre long highway was constructed under the administration of Ghana’s first president, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah. It was opened to traffic in 1965.
The purpose of the motorway was to link the harbour city of Tema to Accra. It is the only motorway in Ghana.
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By: Jonas Nyabor & Philip Nii Lartey/citifmonline.com/Ghana