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Why Accra-Tema motorway must be expanded
Critical observation shows it is rapidly deteriorating as sealant, steel reinforcement damage and cracks are plainly visible.
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Unless serious efforts are made by the government to save this vital national asset, traffic build-up and inconveniences to commuters will soon dwarf what exists on other heavily trafficked streets in Accra.
Poor land-use development, excessive axle loading, and substandard maintenance practices are pushing the motorway into an irreversible destructive spiral, posing major threats to productivity and national security.
Ghana built its first and only motorway linking Tema and Accra in 1964 as part of the country's program of transforming Tema into an industrial hub of the newly-independent nation.
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Like all motorways, the Accra -Tema motorway was designed prohibiting pedestrian movement, parking areas or U-turns.
At 54 years old, the 19km Motorway is the oldest paved road in the country. Being a concrete pavement, it is more expensive to construct than asphalt or other bituminous surface roads, but it is more economical to operate over the long term.
There are too many unauthorised exits on both sides of the motorway.
Data from the Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTU) of the Ghana Police Service shows that in 2017 alone a total of 20,444 vehicles were involved in various forms of accidents across the country, resulting in the loss of 2,076 lives.
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Also, between January and February this year, total number of 2,085 crashes resulting in 366 deaths and 2,272 injuries involving a total 3,415 vehicles were recorded, according to figures from the National Road Safety Commission (NRSC).
Promises unfulfilled
In 2009, former Roads and Highways Minister under the late President John Evans Atta Mills promised expanding the motorway into a six-lane highway.
But after years of a gargantuan promise which never saw the day of light, former President John Mahama on March 19, 2014, has also disclosed that a loan facility has been secured for the expansion of the Motorway.
In November 2015, former Finance Minister, Seth Terkper said the four-lane motorway will be expanded to six lanes to ease traffic on the road.
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Despite these promises the motorway is still the same.
In 2017, the Ministry of Roads and Highways promised that the project will start but failed to fulfill.
Preliminary work on the first phase was expected to commence by January 31, 2018 but nothing happened.
Again, works on the Tema motorway interchange will commence on Sunday, August 26, 2018.
The Ghana Highway Authority (GHA) has announced a closure of parts of the Motorway Interchange to facilitate construction works.
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The interchange project, which began in January 2018, involves the conversion of the existing Tema Motorway Roundabout into an interchange.
The interchange will be extended 500 metres from the roundabout towards the Ashaiman Timber Market Roundabout, 400 metres along the Aflao Road, 300 metres towards the Tema Harbour and about 300 metres to join the Tema-Accra motorway.
As part of the project, an underpass is being constructed on the Tema-Aflao stretch of the roundabout, while the capacity of the slip roads near the roundabout are also being improved to be able to hold the traffic flow along the stretch.
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