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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There were fears from some drivers that the tanker was leaking gas that could have led to an explosion.

[contextly_sidebar id=”mLppn8KKKUPcS4dMe95Kt5gJlbraIcuL”]”We thought it was gas and people were scared and people abandoned their vehicles and all that,” the Motor Transport and Traffic Directorate (MTTD) Commander for the Tema Region, Chief Superintendent Joe Owusu Bempah remarked to Citi News.

The Fire Service had to block the road as a safety measure after some of the petrol had leaked into a nearby drain, he noted.

“The Fire Service came in with towing vehicle to bring the tanker back on road but it was heavy so they could do not that. So they brought another tanker and they have evacuated the fuel. They have offloaded everything onto the new tanker and now the road is clear… There is no danger. Initially, people thought it was gas tanker so people were scared but when they realized it was petrol, people calmed their nerves down and now the traffic is moving,” Supt. Bempah narrated.

The police are yet to ascertain how this truck overturned on the highway to cause the scare and eventual gridlock

“I don’t know what happened because where it [the truck] fell, there is no pothole, there is no curve. It is just a straight road. So as to how sometimes some of these heavy trucks fall down, it beats my imagination. It just fell and from the afternoon, it has been lying down and people were accessing the road until the fire service came and declared the place as dangerous decided not to allow traffic,” Supt. Bempah said.

Lately, such incidents have put motorists on high alert considering previous cases of fuel-related explosions that have killed and injured many.

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It said it expects to complete the exercise before April 2018, to pave way for the expansion of the highway.

This was the indication given by the sector minister, Kwasi Amoako-Atta, who told Citi News that the move will ensure a quick expansion of the motorway.

[contextly_sidebar id=”oTBzd1McnlIBplizjSHYmmh0W1hIAaQH”]According to the Minister, the motorway, will be expanded from the current four lanes to six lanes in an expected 30-month long project.

“We are going to expand the motorway from the current 4 lanes to 6 lanes. It will take about 30 months because it will be under construction this year. We need to create the right of way and clear everybody for the contractor to carry out this work. [This will be] up to the end of March. Announcements will come [to that effect]. We are going to clear the squatters on both sides,” Kwasi Amoako-Atta said.

The Tema Motorway, which some have argued that it no longer serves the 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/citifmonline.com/Ghana 

The post Tema Motorway squatters to be ejected before expansion – Minister appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The residents had for several months complained about the lack of an approved route from the area to the Motorway, making it extremely difficult for them to commute from their homes to the Central Business District and other parts of the capital.

[contextly_sidebar id=”rUq97yhQCL9l7dM7jYv9VEn59QXXcFfH”]The only alternatives involve enduring hours of frustrating vehicular traffic through the East Legon tunnel or the road in front of Emmanuel Eye clinic.

But the Highways Authority in response to a petition from the residents of Trasacco Valley on the matter, have granted them temporary access to the Motorway which is to make their movement relatively easier and faster.

The swift response follows an intervention by the Citi Breakfast Show team, which recently tackled the issue widely from all angles on the show.

As part of the access route, the Ghana Highway Authority has since mounted a toll barrier to ensure easy entry and exit from the community.

The Officer in Charge of Operations for West Trasacco Residents Association, Lloyd Ashley, told Citi News that the residents will ensure that the temporary access is made permanent for the area.

“If you look at the network of roads within the environs, it can’t contain the traffic within the environs, that is why we were pleading for Urban Roads and Highways to open a route like this, and see whether it can be made legalized, unlike the illegality that it was in the past. It has been considered, and today we are happy that it has been opened with a toll booth so that residents and other commuters on this part of the road will pay before having access to the motorway,” he said.

“It is temporary, but with the engineer and the community, we are coming together to make it more accessible, redesign the whole thing to make the motorway safer and permanent,” he added.

While commending government for addressing their problem swiftly, Lloyd Ashley said the long-term plan is also to help motorists driving from Tema to Accra to easily exit the motorway at the new access route.

Drivers of salon cars will pay 50 pesewas, while drivers of SUVs pay GH¢ 1.00 to use the access route.

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By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Gov’t grants Trasacco Valley residents ‘paid access’ to Motorway appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The residents have stated that they are ready to contribute towards the construction of an approved stretch from their areas to the Motorway.

[contextly_sidebar id=”WZvI3EWZ7HTGdY7fILaH5HA1XA6NJscY”]They lament that the non-existence of an approved route from the area to the Motorway makes it extremely difficult to for them to commute from their homes to the Central Business District.

Speaking on the Citi Breakfast Show, the lead petitioner, Priscilla Ashiam said they [Trasacco residents] are also ready to pay tolls once a route is constructed.

An unapproved stretch was created to enable the residents to link directly with the Motorway but that has been blocked, with the Roads Ministry describing it as illegal.

Priscilla Ashiam said they were told that the route was blocked because they were accessing the route without paying some monies to the state.

“When we heard the import of the issue, the matter was we were evading taxes and revenue. We are more than willing to pay and even pay a premium to get onto the Motorway,” she said.

She lamented that she doesn’t see the need for residents to waste productive time in traffic while there is an access route which is properly supervised.

Meanwhile, the Deputy Minister for Roads and Highways, Anthony Karbo has welcomed the initiative by the community to pay to have access to the motorway through the already existing route.

He said the government was aware of the situation and is working to have it addressed as soon as possible.

“Those problems currently exist and we are working on it, first of all, if you look at the Trasacco end of the road, those who live in that area trying to get onto the motorway. You would have observed that the community is growing along the Motorway, and therefore there is the need for the entire redesign work to kick into accounts. How to get those people to pay tolls in order to join the Motorway, but doing so in a way that it doesn’t pose any safety situation [is the issue].” the deputy minister said.

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By: Farida Yusif/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Trasacco residents offer to pay for direct route to Motorway appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

According to him, the government will encourage communities that come together and mobilize resources for the development of their local roads.

[contextly_sidebar id=”SJykFd2nhrNVXNwddMz9O5b7tWikLIEU”]Speaking on the Citi Breakfast Show, Anthony Karbo said, “the real challenges we have had in this country, is that people feel like we are paying for bad roads, because everyone is whining. The motorway is deteriorating yet we are paying tolls, so to even discuss with the citizenry about this issue is a tricky situation. But I think that we have gotten to a point where we have to open up, have a national discussion about road financing going forward especially for major roads that we know that the volume of traffic and the number of tolls people can pay over a period can service the road and there will be regular maintenance, because it is a road that everybody is paying for.”

His comment comes on the back of a petition by the residents of Trassaco Valley in Accra asking the Roads Ministry to grant them tolled access to the Tema Motorway to avoid the frustrating traffic on other alternative routes leading to the Central Business District.

Their petition also touched on the bad nature of roads within the area.

But Anthony Karbo said the Trasacco Valley situation was a general problem facing most communities in the country.

“The status of roads in Ghana has been nothing to write home about for the past eight years,” he remarked

He narrated that after a number of residents approached him to complain about their road, he had advised them to put their concerns into writing and address them to the right authority.

“Those problems currently exist and we are working on it, first of all, if you look at the Trasacco end of the road, those who live in that area trying to get onto the motorway. You would have observed that the community is growing along the Motorway, and therefore there is the need for the entire redesign work to kick into accounts. How to get those people to pay tolls in order to join the Motorway, but doing so in a way that it doesn’t pose any safety situation [is the issue].”the deputy minister said.

Meanwhile, the residents have said they are ready to are ready to pay any tolls to get direct access to the Motorway from the community.

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By: Farida Yusif/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Gov’t open to partnering citizens to finance road projects – Karbo appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Activity around the toll booths is back to normal, but Citi News checks there indicate that even after the attack, the particular toll booth that was robbed has only one policeman providing security.

[contextly_sidebar id=”v36zs2294fpY146OeBfclZNHzKGCayqN”]Robbers on motorbikes attacked one of the toll booths on the stretch, making away with some GHc 45,000 last Sunday, November 5.

Reports say the armed robbers stormed the tollbooth at the Tema end of the motorway at about 9:30pm, and made away with the amount, which is believed to be the entire revenue collected between Friday and Sunday.

A police officer and a supervisor at the toll booth, have since been arrested in connection with the robbery, but lack of swift response from the police is bothering some of the hawkers.

“We usually sell till it is 9:00pm, so it was very shocking that they came at a time there were a lot of people around. There is the need for the presence of a lot of police and soldiers,” one of the hawkers said to Citi News.

Police aware of security situation

Another hawker highlighted the concerns that the traders and hawkers have suffered the brunt of criminal activity for a while now, something the police was aware.

“We need preventive security measures here. When we leave the things we sell here, they are stolen. When we place them at a point police can guard them, they are stolen. So the police actually know there is a lot of robbery and theft here.”

The toll booth in question is located close to Ashaiman, which is noted to have relatively high criminal activity.

There are also some unauthorized structures on the shoulders of the motorway, whose inhabitants are suspected to be behind the criminal activity.

When Citi News spoke to the Tema Regional Police, its Public Relations Officer, ASP Joseph Darkwa, said Police had intensified security following the incident.

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By: Elvis Washington/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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“The Ghana Highway Authority wishes to inform the general public that, there will be a major routine maintenance work on the Accra-Tema motorway which will start in earnest on Saturday, 7^th October, 2017 at 8:00am,” a notice issued by the Ghana Highway Authority stated.

According to the Highway Authority, the work will commence from the Accra bound section of the motorway.

“We are therefore entreating motorists to respect police officers and contractor flagmen who are there to secure their safety, and also adhere to directional and safety signages made available at appropriate sections during this period, to minimize and curb accidents. Any inconvenience caused is deeply regretted,” the Authority added.

Citi Breakfast Show launches campaign 

[contextly_sidebar id=”cPHDJ5qyCWLjZijlKMIYcEqQ7eDupv6u”]This comes on the back of a campaign waged by the Citi Breakfast Show team dubbed: #FixTemaMotorwayNow.  It was aimed at putting pressure on government to fix the defects on the Accra-Tema Motorway.

There are reports that the Accra-Tema Motorway has not seen major repair works in the last decade, despite the huge sums of money the road generates in the form of tolls.

The Motorway has developed huge potholes, and can only boast of few streetlights thus causing a number of accidents at night.

Economic Importance

The motorway is an integral part of Ghana’s economy. It is estimated that about 70,000 vehicles use the motorway daily.

The 19-kilometre road commissioned in November 1965 by the Kwame Nkrumah administration, forms part of the National Route 1(N1), which starts from Aflao (in the Volta Region), and ends in Elubo (in the Western Region).

It is also part of the Trans West African Highway (Abidjan-Lagos Corridor), and also links the capital city, Accra, to the Kotoka International Airport and the Tema Port.

Over 500 potholes

There are unconfirmed reports that over 500 potholes could be found on the road.

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By: Godwin Akweiteh Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @AlloteyGodwin

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This would be some 12-months ahead of the Roads and Highways Minister, Kwesi Amoako-Atta’s estimation.

[contextly_sidebar id=”rkR7QRYUrMmvZZu1ga8g6NRGJS5EkRGf”]Mr. Anang-La admitted the need for streetlights in the Tema metropolis as a whole, which he described as being “completely dark” and said the Assembly’s “Tema restoration agenda” was going to serve as a solution to the problem.

Over GHc40 million will be needed to ensure the whole Tema Metropolis is well lit, he noted to Citi News.

“Tema, which is a city within the capital [Region], and we cannot continue this way. We need to restore Tema to its past glory… we want to put streetlights on the motorway stretch and all the major roads within Tema,” the MCE affirmed.

He said documentation processes in this regard have been completed and “we are making some efforts at the [Roads and Highways] ministry to get some push.”

Per the Roads and Highways Minister’s assertion, the erection of new streetlights will be a waste of resources because they would eventually be torn down for the expansion of the Tema Motorway.

Mr. Anang-La concurred with the Minister’s assessment but reminded that providing the rest of Tema would still go ahead.

“Since there is going to be some constructions, it is ideal and a good idea that we leave it till they complete it but doesn’t stop the Assembly from putting the streetlights in other parts of Tema where road construction is already completed.”

He, however, maintained that the security implications of the motorway without streetlights were serious and required urgent attention.

“… it has become a security issue now and we cannot compromise on security… I will go back to the Minister to discuss this because it is something that the Metropolis wants to put across.”

All things being equal, Mr. Anang assured that “before December [2017], we will see all the streetlights [on the motorway].”

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By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Tema Motorway: MCE to push for streetlights before expansion appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The Roads and Highways Minister, Kwesi Amoako-Atta, has said erecting new streetlights will be a waste of resources because they would eventually be torn down for the expansion of the Tema Motorway.

[contextly_sidebar id=”6OZiK0TpQQTslHqfTSeGoKsPaWJORQme”]The lack of streetlights is noted as one of the hazards on the Tema Motorway, which has not seen major repair works in the last decade despite the huge sums of money the road generates in the form of tolls.

Mr. Amoako-Atta admitted the need for infrastructure benefits especially since people were paying tolls to use the motorway  but ”the project being undertaken on the Tema motorway will not, for now, call for the erection of street lights.”

“I am saying so because by the end of the year, should everything go on as planned, I know that things will work out and latest by the first week or the first quarter of 2018, the motorway project will take off and everything will end by the close of the year.”

A three-tier interchange at Tetteh Quarshie is expected to accompany the construction of the six-lane motorway and the Minister said this new construction work “comes with modern street lighting.”

“…So why should we spend scarce resources of Ghanaians just for two or three months to put up street lights only to pull them down because the total contract comes together with the lighting aspect. It is part of the component. The median that holds the street lights is going to be disturbed because of the construction, and that is why we are not tackling the lighting aspect.”

“By the time we finish the project, it will be a beautiful sight and the street lighting will be on from one end to the other.”

In October 2013, the government announced the expansion of the Accra-Tema motorway into six lanes with an interchange at the Tema roundabout to ease traffic.

The project is expected to cost US$100 million with funding from a credit facility from the Brazilian government, and the government of Ghana, and would take two years to be completed.

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By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Tema Motorway: No streetlights till expansion ends in 2018 – Minister appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.