The Department of Urban Roads (DUR) has commenced the fixing of potholes and asphalt cracks on roads leading to the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital.
When the Daily Graphic visited the main road, officially known as Guggisberg Avenue, about 10:30 a.m. last Friday, workers of the construction firm carrying out the works, Salleydeen Company Limited, were seen using bitumen to seal potholes on parts of the road.
In an interview, the Director of the company, Nurudeen Sally, noted that work had been going on for about a week.
“Immediately the Daily Graphic story about the state of the road leading to the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital came out last Monday, I was called to the office of the Director of the DUR, James Amoo-Gottfried, and charged to fix the road, and we are on it. It’s been about a week since we began,” he said.
Patching
Mr Sally added that all things being equal, the road should be back to its glory after a month.
“The contract is not only limited to Korle Bu; we are to do that of Mamprobi and its enclaves, and from calculation, we should be done in a month,” he said.
During the visit, it was observed that the patching of the road had resulted in traffic congestion, but there was no police presence to help the situation.
However, the construction workers had mounted road signs at vantage points to direct traffic, while some of them served as traffic wardens to control the situation.
Commendation
A driver, who gave her name as Nancy Boakye, said such works ought to be done at night and on weekends to avoid creating discomfort for commuters.
“It is a good sign that the potholes are being patched, but the timing is wrong. Mornings are rush hours for people who need to be at various places. Again, imagine there being an emergency and the time that would be wasted clearing the road,” she said.
Another driver, Frederick Gyan, commended duty bearers for taking action on the road.
“At least we can see they are working and we are grateful. Finally, someone is listening to us,” he said.
Personnel of the Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD) of the Ghana Police Service were on the ground controlling the movement of commercial vehicles (trotro) that had taken over the immediate environs leading to the main entrance of the hospital.
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Additionally, it was detected that the gutters on the shoulders of the road, though still open, had been de-silted by Zoomlion Ghana Limited.
It was business as usual for encroachers who had taken over the shoulders of the road, engaging in various activities such as vulcanising.
Some vehicle owners still used the shoulders of the road as ‘garages’.