Atta Kyea together Deputy Minister of Transport and other dignitaries cutting tape to open the weighbridge
A?newly installed weighing bridge at the Tema Port Cargo section has been commissioned on the Tema dual-carriage to check axle load limit of trucks moving in and out of the Tema Harbour by the Tema Metropolitan Assembly (TMA) in collaboration with Kingdom Exim Group.
The axle load of a vehicle is the total weight exerted on the roadway for all wheels connected to a given axle.
Tema Port Director of the Ghana Port and Harbours Authority (GPHA), Mrs. Sandra Opoku, speaking at commissioning of the GH¢10 million project on Saturday, said it would compliment the already established one at the port to ease congestion on the road and the port as well as protecting the country’s roads.
She called for another weighbridge to weigh trucks before entering the port.
Daniel Nii Kwartei Titus-Glover, Deputy Minister of Transport, said it was important to protect the investment made on road infrastructure by installing weighbridges on the roads.
To prevent the destruction of the roads, the deputy minister who doubles as Member of Parliament (MP) for the Tema East Constituency said the weighbridge has been strategically positioned on the road to deal with axle load limits.
He expressed optimism that such an intervention would help prolong the lifespan of the road.
Truck drivers who use the Accra-Tema Motorway are required to adhere to the country’s axle load limit of 11.5 tonnes.
Unfortunately, there is no mechanism to check the axle load limit on the road which also carries a lot of the traffic from the Tema Harbour to the rest of the country, making that road a preferred one by many truck drivers.
Minister of Works and Housing, Atta Kyea, noted that even though the road was rehabilitated not too long ago, it was obvious that excess axle loads had a toll on it, hence its fast deterioration.
He was of the view that the disregard for the axle load limit by most truck drivers had led to the untimely deterioration and needless rehabilitation of the country’s road network.
The Mayor of Tema, Felix Mensah Nii Annan-La, also expressed excitement that the project would also provide jobs for the teeming unemployed youth in the area and give comfort to truck drivers.
From Vincent Kubi, Tema