The Roads Minister (in cap) and some engineers at Tema
THE MINISTER of Roads and Highways, Francis Amoako-Atta, has announced that the 19-kilometre Accra-Tema Motorway will undergo major renovation works from August, this year, as part of government’s road development agenda.
He said the motorway, which was constructed in the mid-1960s, had outrun its design hence the need to renovate all portions of the road to ease traffic congestion and also give some comfort to commuters plying the road.
The minister announced this during an inspection of some repair works currently ongoing in the Tema metropolis and the dualisation of the Teshie-Nungua-Tema road.
He said “the contractor has already been selected for the project which will commence this year after the sod-cutting is done in August.”
The minister stated that the project has been divided into three phases and will be completed in 2025 to enable repair works on all parts of the road.
He said “due to the speed of work and the importance attached to the Accra-Tema Motorway, the first phase will start from Tema Roundabout to Tetteh Quarshie, while the second phase starts from Apenkwa to Tetteh Quarshie, and the third phase from Apenkwa to Neoplan Station.
The minister continued that the project will consist of a six-lane highway with about three different interchanges between Tema and Tetteh Quarshie, as Tetteh Quarshie is remodeled to take care of the current traffic congestion in the area.
According to him, the renovation, would have taken about four years to complete.
Commenting on the cost of funding for the project, the minister said funding for the project was not a problem since the government would adopt a public private partnership approach and make known the cost of the project to the public when the project starts.
The minister, who was satisfied with the rate of work, also charged the contractors working on the Tema-Nungua stretch to put in all their effort to complete the project before schedule, probably by the first quarter of 2023, adding that they should not compromise quality despite the time given to them for the completion of the project.
The 26-kilometre stretch from the Independence Square to the Tema Port has been dualised to reduce traffic congestion in that part of Accra.
BY Ebenezer Kofi Amponsah