The Minister of Roads and Highways, Mr Kwesi Amoako-Atta, has cautioned individuals who have encroached on road reservations along the Accra-Tema Motorway to remove their properties or have themselves to blame.

According to him, the 19.5-kilometer motorway constructed some 50 years ago had been awarded on contract for reconstruction, and so no obstacle will be allowed to hinder the development of the two-lane dual carriageway into a three-lane dual carriageway.

Mr Amoako-Atta, who gave the warning at a media encounter on Monday evening, said despite several letters warning encroachers to desist from raising properties in the reservations, they had remained adamant.

The minister said the illegal development did not only cause nuisance and inconvenience to motorists but also polluted the environment, leading to choked drains and flooding in the residential areas nearby.

“The time of reckoning has come, the road has been awarded for reconstruction and those who have ignored all these pieces of advice to leave the area would now see whether they will obey orders or still do whatever they want to do,” he added.

The minister stated that anyone who refused to remove their structure would have it demolished because time had caught up with them, and no one could stop the reconstruction of the motorway for the benefit of the country.

Mr Amoako-Atta said the technical works had begun and within the next few months detailed plans and designs would be communicated to the public and major stakeholders before work would commence.

The contractor, he explained, had taken over the site and the government had the responsibility to ensure that the contract that had been signed with the client was fully respected and executed.

The contract for the construction of the Accra-Tema Motorway and extension from the Tema interchange through Apenkwa Interchange to the Neoplan Junction, near Achimota Mile Seven, was signed on December 16, 2020 with Mota-Engil Engenharia Econstrucao Africa S.A after the approval by the Public Procurement Authority and the Central Tender Review Board.

Other aspects of the contract involved the construction of a concrete freeway while the urban highway will be in asphaltic concrete with paved shoulders.

The 5.7 kilometre Tetteh-Quarshie interchange to the Apenkwa Interchange would be turned into a six lane dual carriageway of asphaltic concrete surfacing while the 2.5 kilometre Tesano junction to the Neoplan junction would be reconstructed from a three lane dual carriageway into asphaltic surfacing.

The project would also see the construction of five new interchanges at Lashibi, Community 18 Junction, Teshie Link junction Dzorwulu-Junction and the Neoplan Junction to facilitate traffic movement.

The Tetteh Quarshie interchange would also be remodelled to eliminate perennial congestion; street lights would be provided on all streets; 14 new footbridges constructed to ensure safe pedestrian crossing; and toll plazas provided.