The contractor, Maripoma Enterprise Limited has begun asphalting work on the main carriageway of the Pokuase-Amasaman segment. In the coming weeks, the Railway Bridge to Pokuase will be followed by the China Mall to Pobiman.

To that aim, the contractor has promised the government that the 17.4-kilometer main road segment of the project will be accessible to traffic by early September this year. This was revealed during yesterday’s working visit to the project site by the Minister of Roads and Highways, Francis Asenso-Boakye.

The Minster stated that his visit was to assess for himself the issues that individuals had expressed about the problems they had faced while driving due to construction work and blockages produced by breakdown cars.

Due to complaints from drivers and other road users about the hardships being caused by the construction, the asphalt work consequently began earlier than planned.

Chief Resident Engineer Kwabena Bempong responded to the minister and his team when they inquired about how the inconveniences would be remedied by stating that a grader had been brought in to perform recurring corrective work on the road’s problematic sections, particularly the unpaved areas.

In order for those sections of the main highway to be accessible to traffic, he expressed the hope that the asphalt overlays would be finished by the end of August.

In order to lessen the bad traffic condition, Mr. Asenso-Boakye then gave the contractor instructions to coordinate with the National Road Safety Authority (NRSA) to have a specialized tow vehicle stationed on the corridor to respond to broken-down automobiles.

Additionally, until the construction project was completed, he asked them to continue with the patchwork on the bumpy parts of the road.

The government funded the Ofankor-Nsawam road, estimated at GH¢342.48 million, to have three lanes, service roads, one interchange, two overpasses, and an underpass. Construction by Maripoma Enterprise Limited faces lawsuits, including human rights and ownership issues, hindering completion.

“These cases have been dragging on for a while, and they are preventing the work from moving forward because we need to move utility lines in some areas, such as water, telephone, and electricity infrastructure, and we can’t finish building our main roads and service roads until those lines are moved,” Mr. Bempong said.

BY: APPIANIMAA MERCY