The Wa-Nadowli-Jirapa road in the Upper West Region which was destroyed by flood last month has been re-opened for use by commuters and drivers as work continues on the stretch.
The road which was rendered unmotorable after portions caved in as a result of persistent rainfall and subsequent flooding between August 12 and 14 has been given a temporary facelift by Mawums Limited to allow for commuting.
In an interview with the contractor, Mr Williams Adongo, at Goriyiri in the Nadowli-Kaleo District on Monday, he said that although fixing the road was quite herculean due to the water levels at the time work begun, they applied “tact and skills” to be able to work within time.
He explained that they installed boulders to stabilise the ground and also level the earth surface with some gravels and stones in order to make commuting possible and comfortable until the rains subsided to allow for sustainable fixing of the road.
Speaking to some drivers who were able to ply the road, they expressed relief for the temporary solution and said it would allow for safer and shorter commuting.
Hitherto drivers had to endure longer hours of travelling, as they had to make use of alternative routes and road diversions which led to increment in transportation fares.
A driver of a heavy duty vehicle, Joseph Akurugu, said he was pleased with the temporal work done on the road as the previous situation, according to them, posed threat to both lives and economic activities.
“I am headed to Burkina Faso and I have spent over three weeks on the road due to the havoc; ideally I would have arrived at my destination, offloaded my truck and gotten back to get more goods within the same time frame so we are excited that they have opened the road,” he said.
He explained that trucks of some of his colleagues who decided to use alternative routes had either been somersaulted along the way or gotten stuck in mud due to the nature of those roads and said drivers welcomed the swift effort put into fixing the road.
However, in the midst of the excitement, Issah Mohammed Danso, another truck driver said that until the road was brought to bituminous level, it was still unsafe for truck drivers as the rains persisted.
He explained that it was also necessary for government to construct new culverts at points where water crossed from one side of the road to the other to avoid soaking the graded road in water.
Kweku Issah, a Yutong bus driver said that other portions of the road were ticking time bomb and needed to be worked on before they degenerated into another disaster as experienced at Nadowli.
Meanwhile, the Upper West Regional Minister, Dr Hafiz Bin Salih, on Monday paid a working visit to the construction site to update himself with the progress of work and also commended the contractor for the swift performance.
He stated categorically that permanent construction of the road would begin immediately after the rainy season had ended.
A near 48-hour downpour in the Upper West Region left devastating wreck on the main highways in the region which stretched from Wa to other districts and also served as international routes that linked Ghana to Burkina Faso and other neighbouring countries.
Meanwhile temporal maintenance works are being carried out on other affected roads within the Wa East and Daffiama-Bussie-Issah districts, among others.
FROM LYDIA DARLINGTON FORDJOUR, GORIYIRI
