Highway Authority directed to desilt Tema Motorway drains

The Minister of Roads and Highways, Kwasi Amoako Attah has directed the Ghana Highways Authority to desilt a major drain beneath the Accra-Tema Motorway to allow rainwater to flow freely.

His directive follows the unusual flooding of portions of the motorway after a downpour on Tuesday.

The Roads and Highways Minister, Mr. Amoako Attah said the desilting exercise will commence immediately and efforts will also be made to widen the channel to enable it carry higher volumes of water.

“I have directed the CEO of the Ghana Highway Authority to treat it as an emergency situation. They are going to get themselves organized and mobilize to the site. The only thing is to do desilting and widen the channel for water to flow freely,” he said.

The floodwaters on the motorway caused massive gridlock on both the Accra and Tema-bound sides of the highway, as drivers were compelled to remain in traffic for hours on Tuesday.

A number of vehicles also broke down as their drivers attempted to go through the water on the road which was at window level for some of the smaller cars.

The road which has been in the limelight recently for all the bad reasons was expected to receive major rehabilitation works in the first quarter of 2019.

The project was expected to include a five-lane dual carriageway with six interchanges, including three new ones at Community 18, Teshie Link and Dzorwulu, and the remodelling of others.

The Bureau of Public Safety in an assessment of the flooding incident blamed the human settlements around the motorway for the flooding.