The Department of Urban Roads says it is working earnestly to rehabilitate deplorable roads in the country to ensure safety on the road.
The poor condition of some major roads, particularly in Accra, has become a source of worry for motorists and commuters.
A tour of areas such as Odorkor Intersection, Teshie roads around Sankara, NDC Junction, and Century, which initially had huge potholes that slowed the movement of motorists, has been fixed.
At the Odorkor intersection, the levelling of the potholes has been done, while the NDC Junction and Century Road at Teshie have also been asphalted.
The usual gridlock that occurs at the Odorkor intersection during peak hours due to potholes has been reduced.
Motorists
Residents, who use the road, have expressed their joy about the work being done but pleaded with the Department of Urban Roads to speed up the work.
They explained that the frequent downpour might render their effort fruitless if asphalting was not done immediately.
A motorist, James Asante, commended the authorities for fixing the potholes at the Odorkor intersection, noting that vehicular traffic had reduced.
“The levelling of the potholes has reduced traffic. I am, however, pleading with the authorities to asphalt it as soon as possible, looking at the frequent downpour,” he said.
A trader, who gave her name as Serwaa, said the maintenance had improved her movement and trading activities.
She urged the authorities to keep up the good work.
Maintenance work
The Urban Roads Director, James Amoo-Gottfried, told the Daily Graphic that the department was periodically undertaking remedial works to enhance mobility for motorists who commuted on the bad roads.
Some remedial works, he said, included road works that had stalled at the Interchange at Nungua Barrier.
He said the contractor was not on site currently because the interchange project had been temporarily suspended, causing the deterioration under the interchange.
“Periodically we try to improve the roads to enhance mobility for the people who commute on that road. We are expecting that the contractor will come back on site as soon as practicable, hopefully before the end of the year,” he said.
Busia Highway
Regarding the Busia Highway, he said the levelling of the area started last week but due to heavy traffic, work was being done at night.
“Work is ongoing at the Flowerpot Interchange, the Spintex Road, School Junction and Borteyman.
In the Ashanti region, a lot of work is being done at Kwabre, while the Sunyani Road is nearing completion.
“For Teshie, we have done the Tsui Bleoo road up to a point. We are working on the Fertiliser Road and the culvert connecting Teshie and Nungua to improve movement on the stretch,” he stated.
Pothole patching
Mr Amoo-Gottfried also mentioned that a lot of pothole patching had started across the country, stressing that contractors had been undertaking routine maintenance works.
“We would have wished to do more but there are a lot more challenges than we are able to surmount.
“I believe that by the end of the year the minor maintenance works will be done.
It is not as fast as we would have wished but there is a programme to get it done,” he said.
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