Health

Ashaiman Underpass: Residents and Motorists threaten Massive demonstration

The residents of Ashaiman a busy business centre in Accra have threatened to embark on a massive demonstration against the government. The demonstration is to drive home their unhappiness over the poor nature of their roads and the neglect of the underpass of the Tema motorway that connects the town to other neighbouring communities.

They have therefore given the government two weeks to start fixing the problem. Drivers have complained about how the underpass in its poor state has made the maintenance of the vehicles more expensive.

To avoid the poor nature of the road that leads to the underpass, motorist are forced to use unapproved roots. At the Trotro station was a banner requesting movement to fix the road now.

A group calling itself, “Fix the under the bridge now” has organized the drivers, the community and all stakeholders who are negatively affected by the poor nature of the road.

Ashaiman demonstrations in the past have been nutsy, and they hope the government acts swiftly. The people feel neglected especially when the same bridge in the east legon area has been constructed.

There are over 200,000 people living in Ashaiman who commute to and from Accra and the underpass is needed to make transportation more convenient for the people.

When it rains, motorist are unable to use the road as it gets heavily flooded and un-motorable. Some drivers interviewed by Citi News appealed to the government and the Member of Parliament to help deal with the challenge.

According to the driver, they were promised a year ago that the government will do something about their plight yet, they have seen nothing. The demonstration will help drive home their demands for a fair share of development and better roads in the community.

Drivers complained that they spend between GHȻ300-GHȻ400.00 to repair their vehicles damaged as a result of the poor nature of the roads.

They spend close to two hours in traffic to cross to the other side of the underpass when it should take less than 10 minutes to use the road. The intense traffic that builds up after every downpour makes it difficult for them to make daily sales.

Some drivers requested that the underpass should be converted into a double lane. They have not heard any positive feedback from the assemblyman nor government. Some drivers complained of body pain. Santor, Sun city, Lashibi, Klagon, Osu are all connected to the area.

When the two-lane road gets to the underpass, it becomes a one lane road and that intensifies the problem.

The road also has a very poor drainage system which is choked and so, when it rains, the rainwater floods the road. According to inhabitants, on market days, the road looks clumsy and the traffic is very intense.

The road maintenance engineer in an interview said, the underpass was constructed for cattle to use but the congestion and increased settlement led to its conversion into a road from Ashaiman to Klagon.

They grade the surface once a while to make the road motorable. There is a plan to dress the surface and this is expected to cost about GHȻ600,000 – GHȻ800,000. However, the estimate sent is yet to be approved and the exact time when the project will start is not known. The engineer called for strict enforcement of the laws to ensure only approved routes are used. The government needs to act swiftly before Ashaiman decides to demonstrate as planned.