By Godfred Amoaful
A portion of Ring Road West beneath the ongoing Obetsebi Lamptey Interchange project, in the Korle Bu Hospital direction, has been converted into a Mechanic Yard, where Spare Parts Dealers and Mechanics service cars, which is often a nuisance on that stretch.
Construction work on the Interchange has stalled for a while, giving the encroachers room to use the portion for commercial activities, despite the risks involved.
GBC News’ visit to the site revealed that Dealers in Spare-Parts, Mechanics and some residents at Abossey Okai have taken over a portion beneath the Interchange for commercial purposes.
During the day, especially, cars needing some attention from these mechanics park beneath the overpass that stretches from the Obetsebi Circle at the main entrance of the Abossey Okai spare-part hub. This causes some traffic disruptions on the stretch on a busy day.
City authorities have tried to evacuate the encroachers, but their efforts have not been successful as they rise with the sun to their illegal spot.
The situation has been linked to the inaccessibility of the Abossey Okai yard, because of the ongoing construction. Part of the Spare Parts Hub is covered by stagnant water spilling from a choked drain.
Frank Kwaku Nkrumah is a vendor at Abossey Okai, and has done so for many years. He spoke about the rippling effect of the choked drains on their business.
Another encroacher, Koo Ofori said several moves have been made to make the yard motorable and to exit the construction site but this has not worked.
Contract for the construction of the interchange was signed in October 2016. The first phase of construction was commissioned by the president on 24th of November 2020. For now, the project has been temporarily halted for re-alignment.