4-Tier Pokuase Interchange to be completed in June — Ing. Abass Awolu

The 4-Tier Pokuase Interchange and Local Roads Project located in the Ga North Municipal assembly area is scheduled for completion by June, this year, and subsequent handing over to the government.

The project, the first of its kind in West Africa and second only to South Africa in the whole of Africa begun on July 3, 2018, after a sod cutting ceremony by Mr Yaw Osafo-Maafo on behalf of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

The Director of the Department of Urban Roads (DUR), Ing. Abass Awolu in an interview, said the contractor, Zhongmei Engineering Group Ltd. of China, had so far been able to complete about 96 per cent of the entire work, and barring any unforeseen circumstances would complete the works by second quarter of this year and hand it over to the government.

The Awoshie-Pokuase interchange project is aimed at removing the bottleneck at the Pokuase ACP junction by preventing streams of traffic conflicting with one another from the Awoshie-Pokuase and Accra-Kumasi roads.

Movement of tiers

The Accra-Kumasi Highway, which has four lanes, two each on the main carriageway forms the first tier. Traffic movement from Nsawam towards Kwabenya/Awoshie, and Accra towards Awoshie/Kwabenya forms the second tier. The third-tier traffic movement begins from Kwabenya to Accra/Nsawam and Awoshie to Nsawam/Accra, whilst the fourth tier is designed to move vehicular traffic from Awoshie to Kwabenya and vice versa.

The Awoshie-Pokuase Interchange is being executed under the Accra Urban Transport Project and supervised by the DUR.

According to Ing. Awolu, there are ten lanes on the first tier, that is the main carriageway which has five lanes on each side since it has been designed with bus rapid transit lanes and service lanes.

Ancillary works

Aside the main interchange, there are also a number of ancillary works which have been incorporated into the project to provide a wholistic improvement and upgrade of adjoining communities including Pokuase, Ayawaso, and the John Teye areas.

The Consultant on the Project, Ing. Kwabena Bempong, of Associated Consultants Limited, said major storm drains have been constructed as part of measures to control any form of flooding in and around the project area.

According to him, work on the Sunkwa storm drain which connects with the Nsaki River and finally drains into the Densu had been completed.

Similarly, major drains have been provided at Pokuase, Katapor road, GHS Housing and Ayawaso to curtail flooding in the communities as well.

Additionally, a little over 10-km of town roads in Pokuase, Ayawaso and John Teye areas have been constructed as part of the interchange project.

Again, two footbridges which come with a ramp for the physically challenged are under construction at the ACP and Pokuase Junctions.

Meanwhile, the provision of road signs and other traffic management and safety features such as crash barriers, handrails, road line markings, Traffic lights, zebra crossings, laybys, and street lighting have also been factored into the project.

Some communities which are not served by the Ghana Water Company Ltd. rely on privately owned tankers for water and therefore, a tunnel has been constructed to provide easy access by the tanker drivers to the source of water in the Guako forest.

At the time of the interview, the contractor was applying concrete to the last deck, which is the fourth-tier from Awoshie to Pokuase. That aspect of the work according to Ing. Bempong was about 90 per cent complete.

Funding

The project is funded by the African Development Bank (AfDB), and the Government of Ghana.

The AfDB paid for the all the civil works and relocation of utility lines including those belonging to the Ghana Water Company Ltd, Ghana Grid Company Ltd (GridCo), Electricity Company of Ghana. The government on the other hand paid compensation to affected property owners. So far about Ghc15 million according to Ing. Bempong had been spent on payment of compensation.

Benefits

The completion of the works and subsequent usage is expected to open up that part of the city and improve mobility. Until recently, the area was burdened long vehicular traffic queues with motorists spending hours to commute in and out, especially during the morning and evening peak hours.

The rough nature of the road prior to the reconstruction led to longer travel time, increased wear and tear of vehicular parts, and increased green house gas emissions at the time when the world is fighting climate change.

The completion of the works is expected to significantly improve the economic and social fortunes of the residents in particular and Ghanaians in general.

Source: THE GHANAIAN PUBLISHER