General News of Saturday, 2 April 2016

Source: tv3network.com

Gov't misses deadline for motorway expansion

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Minister of Roads and Highways Alhaji Inusah Fuseni has assured that the commencement of Tema-Accra motorway expansion will now be in April after his outfit failed to meet the March deadline.

The Road Minister told Bright Kwesi Asempa on Onua FM’s current affairs analysis program Ghana Dadwen on Friday that the postponement of works on the 19km 2-lane dual-carriageway was necessitated by the thorough study by the contractor to ensure durability of the road and value for money.

“We would have started this work before March ended as promised but we are also concerned about value for money. There are intensive feasibility works on going, but I can assure you that work on Accra-Tema motorway expansion project will start this month, I mean April,” he disclosed.

When he promised that the project would begin in March, Alhaji Inusah Fuseini was certain feasibility studies to establish the project’s viability will have been completed by now.

Alhaji Inusah posited that the Accra-Tema motorway expansion project is among one of the projects that are giving both him and the president sleepless night.

“I know Ghanaians want that project complete as in yesterday, same way we also want it but we are considering value for money”.

The Accra-Tema motorway is a 19km 2-lane dual-carriageway with cement-concrete surfacing, and 2m bituminous surface dressed shoulders. The motorway forms an integral part of the National Route 1(N1) starting from Aflao (in the Volta Region) and ending at Elubo (in the Western Region). It is also part of the Trans West African Highway (Abidjan-Lagos Corridor).

“We are redesigning both Tema roundabout and the Tetteh Quarshie roundabout in order to allow free flow of traffic. That road contributes largely to our economy and every government will make it convenient to ply” the road minister said.