A section of the Abokobi-Pantang road, near the Pantang Police Post, has been closed to traffic to allow for the construction of a new, large box culvert to accommodate the volume of flow of water across the road.
The project, awarded by the Hydrological Services Department, is expected to be completed within eight (8) months.
The new culvert will replace a series of culverts on the Alafia road, a stretch on the Abokobi-Pantang road.
This section of the road often floods whenever it rained heavily which sometimes makes it impossible for cars to pass and cause havoc to nearby residents and buildings.
The contractor for the project, Kubi Construction, moved to site on Wednesday, 16th February 2022, to commence work.
The Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) for the Ga East Municipal Assembly (GEMA), Hon. Elizabeth Kaakie Mann, early Wednesday morning, led by the Acting Municipal Urban Roads Engineer (MURE), Ceaser Sackey, visited the site to inspect the project.
She said the Assembly has supervisory jurisdiction over the project and she was duty-bound to frequently visit projects sites to ensure the right work is done.
“Contracts have been awarded and this is one of them. As an Assembly, it is our responsibility to supervise the contractors and make sure they do the work diligently. I’m here this morning to see to it that the contractor does the right thing”, she stated.
Hon. Kaakie Mann appealed to motorists who ply the road and residents and businesses affected by the project to exercise patience and cooperate with the Assembly and the contractor as it was in their interest the project was being executed.
“They came and started with work but upon breaking the ground, they realized that since this area is a flood-prone area, water has eaten deeply into the road and therefore there’s the need to block it immediately, so I’m begging all of them to bear with us. We’re doing all this for all of us so that we all live in a safe environment”, she said.
The Hon MCE seized the opportunity to advise those who build without permits, especially in waterways, to desist from such practice and seek the appropriate permit before embarking on such developments.
“This is one of the challenges we were even discussing at a Core Management Meeting yesterday. Some people are stubborn to the extent that they don’t come for permits and often build in the nights and holidays so it’s difficult to locate them and summon them. We’re appealing to them to always come to the Assembly with their land documents for us to give the required permit to enable them to build”, she remarked.
The Municipal Urban Roads Engineer indicated that the volume of water from the mountains through Teiman, Pantang Village, and crossing at Alafia road to join the Odaw is designed to contain more flow than the existing series of culverts.
“We have a series of culverts that carry water from the mountains towards the Odaw river. All these culverts are undersized. Hydro has taken upon itself and awarded a box culvert to a contractor called Kubi Construction to come and construct a 4 by 4 double-cell culvert for this road. Currently, the contractor is on-site, he is trying to do the setting out and the diversion for the water to pass so that it will be easier to do its work”, he noted.
He assured that his outfit will rigorously monitor and supervise the project to ensure high quality of work is done.
He also indicated that a diversion road has been created for motorists to use temporarily while the project goes on.
