Motorists and commuters who rely on the Accra–Madina stretch experienced some relief on Tuesday after authorities reopened a lane that had been temporarily closed as part of ongoing works linked to the reconstruction and expansion of the Accra–Tema Motorway Expansion Project.
The lane had initially been shut and traffic diverted on Monday, March 9, in order to allow contractors to undertake key construction works associated with the large-scale infrastructure project.
The closure was part of measures to facilitate engineering work on the interchange area near the Tetteh Quarshie Interchange, where additional lanes are being constructed to improve traffic flow.
However, the diversion quickly resulted in unusually heavy congestion along the corridor, leaving thousands of motorists stuck in gridlock for several hours.
The Accra–Madina road is one of the most heavily used routes in the capital, linking major residential areas such as Madina and Adenta to the central parts of Accra, and disruptions on the road often have ripple effects across surrounding routes.
Speaking on the Citi Breakfast Show on Tuesday, March 10, the Chief Resident Engineer for the project, Kwabena Bempong, explained that the decision to reopen the lane was made after authorities observed the scale of traffic congestion resulting from the diversion.
According to him, engineers had planned the diversion well in advance and had even conducted earlier trials to assess its impact before implementing the closure.
“We have been planning this for some time, and about three months ago, we piloted the diversion and we did not have too many challenges,” he said, adding, “We are adding three more lanes at Tetteh Quarshie. The method we are using is putting beams on the road and asphalting over it, and that is the reason for the diversion for safety purposes.
“We blocked the road leading to Madina, and we directed the traffic to the Accra-bound road, and that is what caused the traffic. But we have decided to reopen the closed lane due to the massive traffic we experienced yesterday.”
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