Nearly four in ten traffic signals across Ghana are either inactive or permanently out of service, an April 2026 assessment by the Department of Urban Roads (DUR) has found, exposing a critical urban infrastructure network under sustained attack from reckless drivers, organised theft syndicates, and years of institutional neglect.
Roads Minister Governs Kwame Agbodza released the findings, which cover 411 traffic signal installations across 11 regions under DUR jurisdiction. Of those, only 257, representing 63 percent, are currently operational. A further 132 signals, or 32 percent, are inactive, worsening gridlock at key urban intersections. An additional 22 units, five percent of the total, have been permanently decommissioned due to structural damage or road redesigns.
The geographic concentration of the network compounds the problem. The Greater Accra Region holds 241 installations, accounting for 59 percent of all signals in the country. The Ashanti Region follows with 61 signals at 15 percent. Five regions under DUR oversight currently have no traffic lights at all.
What Is Destroying the Network
Between 2020 and 2026, 587 distinct critical incidents disrupted the network. Vehicular crashes are the dominant cause, responsible for 455 incidents, or 77.5 percent of all disruptions. Reckless driving and overspeeding have repeatedly destroyed poles, gantries and controllers at major intersections including Okponglo, Tesano and Kasoa.
Vandalism and theft account for a further 17.4 percent, with 102 recorded incidents. Organised syndicates have been targeting computerised controllers, solar panels, inverters, backup batteries and underground copper cables. A further 30 cases involve equipment so obsolete that replacement parts are no longer manufactured anywhere.
The Awoshie-Pokuase corridor illustrates the scale of destruction. At School Junction, a violent crash destroyed the solar array and control system and killed the driver. At Odorgono and Anyaa Market, thieves repeatedly bypassed security enclosures to strip backup batteries and micro-controllers. Criminals have also physically climbed overhead gantries along the corridor to extract specialised copper cables.
Debt Is Stalling Repairs
Restoration efforts are being blocked by two compounding failures. Contractual disputes have disrupted procurement and maintenance processes. More critically, the state currently owes maintenance contractors for work already completed, bringing rapid-response restoration to a near standstill. Ghana also faces a $55 million court judgement debt connected to the Accra Intelligent Traffic Management contract, a liability hanging over the entire modernisation agenda.
Security and Technology Response
The DUR is deploying heavy-duty steel burglarproof cages around control cabinets, thicker iron casing plates and lockable underground chamber slabs to protect newly installed infrastructure. Stricter identity protocols for authorised field technicians are also being enforced, alongside increased legal action under the Road Traffic Regulations.
On the technology front, the Area-Wide Traffic Signal Control System (AWTSCS) is already operational on the Neoplan-to-Central Business District (CBD) corridor, funded through a French Development Agency and Government of Ghana partnership. It integrates 33 smart controllers, 80 closed-circuit television cameras and a Bus Priority System connected to the Accra Traffic Management Centre.
The more ambitious Accra Intelligent Traffic Management System (AITMS) Phase II, which includes a state-of-the-art Intelligent Tower command centre, remains only 23 percent complete due to ongoing legal disputes, with high-tech hardware sitting idle in storage.
“Let’s work together to keep our public road traffic lights working,” Minister Agbodza said.
