The Adenta-Madina footbridges project which started in November 2018 and scheduled to be completed within six month is yet to be fully completed although the period had elapsed.
Apart from the Ritz Junction Footbridge constructed by First Sky Limited, which had been fully completed and being used by road users, the other five footbridges are at various levels of completion.
A visit by the Ghana News Agency (GNA) to the various construction sites on Monday, it observed that works on most of the footbridges were far advanced as the contractors were putting finishing touches to it.
The Footbridge at Redcowas was however, a little behind time as compared to others as the concrete was yet to be cast on the second part of the walkway on the bridge.
Also the usual presence of personnel from the Motor Traffic and Transport Unit (MTTU) of the Ghana Police Service who normally assist pedestrians to cross the road were absent at all six worksites.
The Assemblyman for West Adenta Electoral Area, Rahid Osei Bonsu, said although they were unhappy with the level of completion, they were aware that some of the contractors had challenges at the initial stages, which delayed the process.
He said the contractor at the SDA Junction footbridge for instance had a problem with the drainage system in the area, and had to construct a new culvert to pave way for the actual work to commence.
“I think the contractors working on the Redco Footbridge has disappointed us because they are way behind time,” adding that, he could not fathom why the contractor was working at a slow pace than the others.
Mr. Bonsu said although the project had delayed the contractors are now always seen on site each day and was confident that the work would be completed in about three weeks’ time.
A regular user of the road, Selorm Branti, said he has been monitoring the progress of the project on daily basis and blamed the initial challenges the contractors faced to the delay.
He said a lot more remains to be done at the SDA Junction near the Tot-To-Teen School, which was a marshy area, adding that once the contractors are always on site they hope work would be completed soon.
It would be recalled that on Thursday, November 8, 2018; a taxi cab knocked down a female student of WASS on the Adenta-Madina Highway leading to her immediate demise, prompting residents in the area to demand the completion of the footbridges.
The residents blocked the road and burnt car tyres to prevent the movement of vehicular traffic as a way of expressing their anger over the frequent knockdowns due to the non-availability of footbridges.
It took the timely intervention of the Police and personnel from the Ghana National Fire Service to quench the fire to restore sanity and allow the free flow of vehicular traffic. On November 9, the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Roads and Highways, Transport and Interior issued a statement that work would commence in a week’s time (November 16,) on the bridges.
Some resident however, on Monday, November 12, staged another peaceful protest to re-echo the need for the government to urgently fix the uncompleted footbridges to safeguard lives of pedestrians.
On the same Monday, Officials of the Ghana Highway Authority took six contractors to the site in readiness to begin work on the uncompleted footbridges after receiving the architectural drawings.
On Monday April 1, the Ghana Highway Authority said the Adenta-Madina Footbridges project was 80 per cent complete.
