Residents block Madina-Adentan road

There was some chaos on the Adenta-Oyarifa road on Friday evening as some residents of Adenta Barrier staged a demonstration to demand the construction of footbridges on the road.

The protest was sparked after a resident was killed in a hit-and-run incident that same evening.

According to eyewitnesses, a car knocked down Lelian Akrofi and sped off.

A speeding taxi then ran over her body shortly after.

Nine soldiers from the patrol team in charge of Madina Adenta have been deployed to restore calm in the area.

But after they left, the angry residents re-mobilized and placed tyres, gallons and cement blocks on the road.

According to them, such deaths have become a common occurrence due to the absence of footbridges.

One of the residents, Samuel Oklu, complained to Citi News saying, “we wrote a letter to our assembly, people we know who can help, but till now, they have not tried to help us. Almost every month, people are dying here. We need flyovers here.”

There was a similar protest on the Tarkwa-Takoradi road in the Western Region where the road was blocked for over five hours by angry residents of Bonsar on Thursday evening.

This was after a bauxite hauling truck hit and killed a nine-year-old girl who was returning from school.

The irate youth in the Tarkwa Nsuaem community blocked the road at about 4 pm on Thursday and burnt tyres, preventing other cars from using the road after the gory accident that saw the deceased dismembered.

The absence of footbridges on highways has been noted as a major cause of road accidents.

The Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) is currently collaborating with Bloomberg to improve safety on highways.

In line with this, the government plans to construct three footbridges on the George Walker Bush Highway in a bid to curb the increasing number of pedestrian deaths on the road.

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By: Nii Armah Armah & Caleb Kudah |citinewsroom.com | Ghana