The Project Manager for the Accra-Tema Motorway expansion project, Ing. Ben Sackey, has said the traffic diversions causing inconvenience to commuters are temporary and necessary to repair aging drainage and crossing infrastructure along the highway.
The Accra-Tema Motorway, one of Ghana’s busiest roads, connects the capital to the country’s main port and industrial area. The expansion project is aimed at reducing congestion, enhancing safety, and upgrading the deteriorating road infrastructure.
In an interview on the Joy Super Morning Show, Ing. Sackey clarified that contractors are not moving traffic from the main motorway to the Urban Highway as a permanent arrangement. He said the diversions are instead meant to enable engineers to rebuild essential culverts and water crossings under the road.
“Our construction methodology is to keep traffic on the main road as much as possible,” he explained. “So we are not diverting traffic on the main motorway onto the Urban Highway at this time.”
He said the project has revealed old crossing culverts that have existed for more than five decades, with some being 50 to 60 years old. These structures must be reconstructed to ensure proper water drainage and avoid future flooding and road deterioration, he added.
“These culverts have been in existence for over 50 or 60 years. We have done most of the sections, and now we are left with the motorway itself,” he said.
Ing. Sackey noted that the drainage systems on both sides of the motorway need to be connected properly to allow water to flow freely.
“What we are doing right now is to create a series of diversions from the motorway onto diversion sections so that we can excavate the middle of the motorway and construct those covers properly,” he noted.
The clarification comes amid growing frustration from commuters who have raised concerns about traffic jams and confusion resulting from the diversions, especially during rush hours.