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Asphalt works on the 33.4km Ofankor-Nsawam Road Dualirisation and upgrading road project has begun.
The contractor, Maripoma Enterprise Limited, started the asphaltic work on the main carriageway of the Pokuase to Amasaman stretch. It is expected to continue with the Railway bridge to Pokuase then to the China Mall to Pobiman in the coming weeks.
To this end, the contractor has assured the government that the 17.4-kilometre main carriageway section of the project would be open to traffic by early September this year. This came to light when the Minister of Roads and Highways, Francis Asenso-Boakye, paid a working visit to the project site yesterday.
The Minster said his visit was to assess for himself the concerns people raised about inconveniences they experienced using the road as a result of the construction works and obstructions caused by breakdown vehicles.
The asphalt works, therefore, started ahead of schedule following complaints by motorists and other road users that the inconveniences being created in the wake of the construction.
When asked how the inconveniences would be addressed, the Chief Resident Engineer, Kwabena Bempong, told the minister and his delegation that a grader had been deployed on the road to conduct periodic remedial works on bad portions of the road, especially areas which had not been paved.
He expressed the hope that the asphalt overlays on the main carriageway would be completed by the end of August so that those portions could be open to traffic.
Mr Asenso-Boakye then directed the contractor to liaise with the National Road Safety Authority (NRSA) for a dedicated towing vehicle to be stationed on the corridor to attend to vehicles that break down in order to mitigate the severe traffic situation.
He also asked them to stick to the remedial works on rough portions of the road until the construction project was over.
Funded by the government at an estimated cost of GH¢342.48 million, the Ofankor-Nsawam road when completed would have three lanes, service roads, one interchange, two overpasses and an underpass.
The construction is being undertaken by Maripoma Enterprise Limited, a local construction firm. A litany of lawsuits, ranging from human rights cases to ownership of portions of the road earmarked for the reconstruction of the dual carriage¬way, hindered the completion of work on schedule.
With some of the cases dating back to 2022, Mr Bempong told the Daily Graphic in March this year that his team would not be able to meet the August deadline.
“These cases have dragged on for quite some time, and these are impeding the progress of the work because there are some areas where we have to relocate the utility lines like electricity, telephone infrastructure and water; and until they are moved, we are unable to complete the construction of our main roads and the service roads,” Mr Bempong said.
