The damaged portion of the Accra Tema Motorway which was closed for maintenance works would be opened to traffic at 6:00 a.m. today.
Mr Akwesi Amoako-Atta the Minister of Road and Highways gave this assurance after inspecting progress of work on the Tema -Accra bound section of the bridge over the Lakplakpa river near Adjen Kojo in the Tema West constituency of Greater Accra Region.
He was accompanied by the Chief Director of the ministry, Alhaji Dr Awullo Abass and other directors of the Departments of Urban Roads, Feeder Roads and the Ghana Highway Authority (GHA).
The repairs became necessary following the detection that the metals under the bridge had become rusty and must be replaced to avoid its total collapse.
The steel deck had failed and defects had occurred in the remaining reinforced concrete slab which had affected the steel beam and welds, the minister, therefore, ordered its closure and directed that the bridge be immediately repaired and gave the contractor two weeks to complete work.
As a result the Tema –Accra bound section was diverted to the half of the Accra -Tema section to give the contractor enough space to undertake the repair works.
But the public outcry over the closure of that section leading to huge traffic jam in the rush hours attracted the attention of the President who upon deliberations was assured that with modern technology the concrete works could be cured within 24 hours, and the contractor true to his words completed all steel works by 6:00 p.m. Wednesday and started casting the concrete at 9: 00 p.m. that same evening.
The minister satisfied with the level of commitment and rate of work commended the contractor for working day and night to complete work ahead of scheduled.
“This is the level of commitment the ministry expects from all contractors given jobs that bothers on the lives and socio-economic development of the people, because every contract or work must be a living proof for the people to see as they would be the only arbiters of the government’s efforts aimed at transforming the lives of the people,” he added.
According to Mr Amoako–Atta the bridge was rehabilitated in 2014 using steel plates which had outlived its usefulness as such called for a new technology involving use of iron rods and concrete to strengthen the base after which bitumen would be used to dress the surface.
He expressed gratitude to the Ghana Police Service for providing 24- hour security that ensured that no incident occurred during the course of the work and motorists for their comportment and assured the bridge would be maintained to ensure the safety of all users.
BY LAWRENCE VOMAFA-AKPALU
