Ofankor-Nsawam road users deserve relief

Road infrastructure is meant to make life easier, shorten travelling time and support economic activity.

However, for commuters and motorists who use the Ofankor-Nsawam stretch of the Accra-Kumasi Highway, the ongoing road expansion project has become a daily test of patience.

Heavy traffic, potholes and thick clouds of dust have made journeys along the 33.4-kilometre stretch uncomfortable and, in some places, difficult.

Drivers struggle to navigate damaged sections, while dust raised by passing vehicles reduces visibility and causes discomfort to passengers, traders and residents along the route.

Those plying the route have endured enough inconvenience and deserve urgent relief.

The expansion project, which began in July 2022, was initially scheduled for completion in July 2024.

That deadline was missed, and the contract was extended to July 2026. Yet, despite substantial progress in some areas, several sections remain unfinished.

The Medie flyover, for instance, was still awaiting completion and opening to traffic when the newspaper visited the stretch.

Some completed portions around Satellite, Kutunse and Sarpeiman also remained closed to motorists, while unfinished sections at Doboro and other locations continued to impede movement.

These conditions raise legitimate questions about the pace of work and the management of the project.

Where sections have been completed and are safe for use, the authorities and contractor should examine whether they can be opened to traffic without compromising public safety or disrupting ongoing construction.

The immediate concern, however, is the dust. The contractor, Messrs Meripoma Enterprise Limited, must make regular watering of untarred sections a priority.

This newspaper observed that watering had been carried out at Medie, but other stretches, including Samsam, Sarpeiman, Kpobiman and Doboro, remained particularly dusty.

Watering the road will not complete the project, but it is a practical measure that can reduce the discomfort and visibility problems confronting motorists while construction continues.

It should not take repeated appeals from drivers and residents for such a basic intervention to be sustained.

The contractor must also provide a clear and realistic account of the remaining work and take urgent steps to improve the pace of construction.

The absence of visible activity at some sections, as reported by road users, is understandably worrying, particularly when the extended deadline has passed.

The government, for its part, must ensure that any outstanding funding issues are addressed promptly.

If the release of funds is delaying work, that problem must be resolved without further unnecessary delay. Public infrastructure projects cannot be allowed to drift indefinitely while the people who depend on them bear the cost.

The Ghana Highway Authority must also strengthen its monitoring of the project and provide the public with credible updates on progress, outstanding works and a realistic completion schedule.

Transparency would help reassure road users that their concerns are being taken seriously.

The project is expected to improve movement along the Accra-Nsawam corridor, expand road capacity and support economic activity in communities along the route.

Those benefits, however, will remain out of reach until the outstanding works are completed and the road is fully opened for use.

The Ghanaian Times therefore urges the contractor, the government and the relevant road authorities to act with urgency.

Motorists need more than promises: they need visible progress, safer road conditions and relief from the dust and gridlock.

The time has come to turn this long-awaited road project into a completed public asset.

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