Asuboi residents demand safety measures on Accra-Kumasi highway after rising fatalities

Residents of Asuboi in the Eastern Region say they are living under constant fear as the Accra-Kumasi Highway continues to record frequent fatalities, largely caused by reckless speeding.

Led by their Queenmother, Nana Ama Odeibea Abisesuo III, the community is demanding urgent intervention from government through the construction of speed ramps or a pedestrian footbridge to curb the rising death toll.

According to her, the situation has reached alarming levels, recalling a recent incident in which about 15 people were knocked down in a single day, leading to multiple deaths and serious injuries. She added that only days ago, a Sprinter bus crushed three people to death on the same stretch.

The Queenmother accused the Ghana Highway Authority, the Department of Urban Roads, and regional authorities of neglect, insisting that repeated petitions from the community have been ignored despite the growing danger.

The Accra-Kumasi Highway is one of the busiest roads in Ghana, serving as the main link between the south and the north. Yet, residents say the lack of speed-control mechanisms has turned it into a death trap, with schoolchildren, the elderly, and other pedestrians risking their lives daily to cross for school, healthcare, or business.

Some frustrated residents have threatened to block the highway in protest but, for now, have restrained themselves, instead contributing money to improvise temporary barriers to slow down vehicles.

Adding his voice, Ayensuano District Chief Executive, Mr. Joshua Yaw Frederick Lartey, cited the tragic death of a young girl and her mother who were struck by a speeding vehicle while crossing the road. He urged drivers to be cautious but maintained that permanent solutions are critical.

Mr. Lartey also appealed directly to President John Dramani Mahama to establish a health facility along the Ayensuano stretch to provide immediate care for victims of road crashes, noting that many lives could be saved if emergency treatment were readily available.