General News of Monday, 10 July 2017
Source: modernghana.com
2017-07-10
The residents and other users are calling for a different technology to deal with the falling rocks
Government says it is working around the clock to ensure repair works on the Aburi Mountains resume at least within the next month
The project on the Aburi road has stalled following the failure of the contractor, CST Limited to meet the five the month deadline set by the Ghana Highway Authority (GHA) to complete it.
Last year, the GHA announced the closure of the Accra-bound carriageway for five months from June 22 to November 19, 2016, to allow the contractor stabilise the slope and halt the fall of rocks.
This followed complaints from motorists that the road had become a danger to them as the rocks kept falling without warming.
One year after its closure, the Ayi Mensah-Aburi lane of the road remains closed to motorists resulting in heavy traffic and deterioration of the Aburi bound side of the carriageway.
The residents of the area say it has affected productivity as they spend a lot of time in traffic to and from Accra.
“We don’t know what happened because the contractor was working but stopped all of a sudden worsening the situation,” one resident told Joy News’ Favour Nunoo.
Some workers who have stopped working maintain equipment used in the construction of the hexagonal mesh over the rock have been destroyed.
The situation the reporter said is quite precarious as the rocks keep falling as the mesh cannot hold them in place.
The residents and other users are calling for a different technology to deal with the falling rocks.
But speaking with Beatrice Adu, Deputy Roads Minister Anthony Karbo rejected claims the project has been abandoned.
He says the government has been meeting with the contractors in an effort to provide what they need so work can resume at least, within a month.
“The urgency with which this contract has to be executed has not been witnessed over the last few months. The sector minister Amoako Attah met with the contractor and resident engineer to fix an irreconcilable difference in terms of scope of work and some certificate of payments,” he said.
He disclosed that the issue is before the Road Fund for consideration and payment for the project to continue.
