The Director of the Department of Urban Roads , Alhaji Abass has attributed the deterioration of newly constructed roads to choked drainage systems in those areas.
Some new roads such as Atomic Junction interchange among others, got flooded and have started deteriorating due to heavy rains over the weekend.
[contextly_sidebar id=”NWFIwwlyQFXQx2KknlT3vTG0PhHDGUjP”]Speaking on the Citi Breakfast Show, Alhaji Abass explained that these choked drainage systems lead to most of these new roads being flooded and destroyed.
“I know we have had some challenges with some of the new roads simply because we have underground drainage systems around the whole area and some of the underground systems need to be a little more cleaned .There are a few maintenance activities that are generally done by some other people and sometimes the inlets are choked,”he explained.
He revealed that the Department is trying to get contractors to clean up these drainage systems to allow the free flow of water and prevent these areas from flooding.
Abass said some of the underground drainage systems should also be opened up at regular times so the filth can easily be taken out.
More drains to be covered
Abass said “there’s a major policy direction to have more covered drains than open drains”
“We have a lot of old open drains and yes the covering alone needs a chunk of funds to do that.”
Asked whether the Department puts in place measures to ensure newly constructed roads are resilient to rains, Abass explained.” we have a 1 year defect liability period and so it means that if a project is completed you need a year to check on the defects on that project”
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By: Marian Efe Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghanba
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