The Minister of Roads and Highways, Mr Kwasi Amoako-Atta has assured that everything possible would be done to protect the Sogakope Bridge from the spillage of the Akosombo Dam.
He gave the assurance after inspecting the bridge yesterday at Sogakopein the South Tongu District of the Volta Region following reports on the level of destruction caused by the spillage in the area.
At the time of the visit, the distance between the bottom of the bridge and water was about two and a half feet, 0.8 metres with the danger point at 0.3 metres.
All 16 piers of the bridge have also entangled by weeds from the up-stream thus impeding the free flow of the water down stream into the sea.
But the minister after assessing the situation said even though there was no cause for alarm, all precautionary measures must be taken to prevent the water from hitting the surface of the bottom of the bridge.
Mr Amoako-Atta indicated that the government through the ministry has for the past five days been working with the Volta River Authority (VRA) and the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) and the South Tongu district assembly to use Tug boats with the help of the Ghana Navy to clear the weeds from the lake.
The country he explained, cannot afford to loss the over 600 metre bridge which serves as an important link of the ECOWAS Corridor, as such government would do everything possible to protect the valuable national asset.
“The bridge is still strong but the main concerns now would be if there would be more spillage as the safety of the dam is also paramount to the VRA,” he added.
According to him, the nature of the bridge is such that diversions cannot be created as such nothing would be taken for granted.
The minister stated that a seed money of GH¢5 million have been earmarked to rehabilitate the roads that are likely to be affected by the spillage.
Mr Amoako-Atta also assured the victims of the spillage that government would do everything in its power to help them over come these current challenges.
He commended the association of Inland Canoe Fishermen for the support during these trying times
The Director of Bridges at the Ghana Highway Authority, Mr Yakub Koray who also assured that the bridge was stable, indicated that sand bags would in the next two days, be placed the highest level points of the bridge to mitigate any adverse impacts in case of more inflows.
FROM LAWRENCE VOMAFA-AKPALU,SOGAKOPE
