Some expansion joints on the Lower Volta Bridge at Sogakope in the South Tongu District of the Volta Region, have become a death trap to road users and travellers along the Accra-Aflao International Highway.
Residents are, therefore, appealing to the Ghana Highway Authority (GHA) to fix the problem in order to prevent future accidents and deaths in the event that the bridge collapses.
The Lower Volta Bridge is one of the country’s longest bridges that witnesses heavy vehicular and human traffic on daily basis because of its location on the Lagos-Accra-Abidjan corridor.
Drivers using the bridge always try to swerve the exposed joints by veering into the opposite lane, sometimes hitting motor riders and street hawkers.
Some students and pupils from Sogakope, Sokpoe and Tefle, who cross the bridge during weekdays to attend school have also expressed fears about the state of the bridge.
Traders who also do business across the bridge are equally afraid of the situation.
One of them is Helen Dugbenu, a resident of Tefle.“I have lamented on how young children and youths lost their lives because no one seems to care what happens, “ she said
According to another resident, Maxwell Lukutor, who spoke with Joy News, some pedestrians have lost their lives due to the bad and dilapidated bridge.
He said the situation is so bad that they always live in fear daily as lots of accidents happen there as a result of the problem.
“We want the authorities to come to our aid and fix the bridge as soon possible to avoid more calamities,” Maxwell Lukutor pleaded.
It is the hope of road users and residents of Sogakope that something urgent is done about the situation soon.