Director of Planning and Programmes at the National Road Safety Authority (NRSA), Mr David Osafo Adonteng, has cautioned pedestrians and motorists plying the newly constructed Pokuase Interchange to comply to directional signages provided.
Addressing the media, he noted that compliance to the signages will ensure the protection of live of pedestrians and motorists.
Mr Adonteng made this revelation during an inspection of the interchange by officials from the Ministry of Roads and Highways and the Ghana Highway Authority, ahead of its commissioning on Friday July 9, 2021.
He further commented on two road accidents recorded since the interchange became operational. With this, two private vehicles were also involved in a head-on collision on one of the sections on Wednesday.
“We were told that a pedestrian was hit by a vehicle on one of the sections yesterday. Some of our people are a bit recalcitrant, undisciplined and you know the problem we all have.
“Even whilst we were there, they were still forcing to jump over some of the median, the fences and the walls although the police are around and putting fear in them”.
Public education on Pokuase Interchange
In a bid to forestall future misinterpreting of signages and accidents from occurring, Mr Adonteng stated that, the Authority and the Police Service have embarked on a sensitisation program.
This, he explained, will focus on residents and transport operators to educate them on a safer way of using the facility.
Additionally, he noted that officials from the Authority would remain on site after it had been commissioned. To this end, they will be persistent in educating users to ensure that carnage on the interchange will be reduced.
“The NRSA is working with MTTD of the Ghana Police Service, engaging the public especially pedestrians. We are showing them where to walk and where to cross. Everything has also been put on flyers and we are circulating them to the public.
“We have also done some in animation and are running them on social media and other media outlets”.
NRSA to ensure reduced road accident
Touching on the increase in road accident, he explained that the Authority will ensure that road accidents are minimized on the Interchange.
“The next six months getting to the end of December 2021, we will be here all the time to support people to use the facility and get used to it. Because if we don’t do that, then we will be adding on to the deaths that we are recording.
“Within six months, we have already recorded 1,450 deaths, a 27% increase compared to last year. So, we will work very hard to ensure we minimise the deaths and the injuries on our roads.”
The four-tier Pokuase Interchange commenced in April 2018. It was initially expected to be completed in October 2020, but was later changed to March 2021.
The government, in May 2021, said the project would be completed in the first week of July 2021.
Estimated at a cost of $94.8 million, the project comprised a five-kilometre Awoshie-Pokuase road and a two-kilometre Accra-Nsawam Road. It also included two-kilometre Kwabenya road and 10 kilometres of local roads to improve traffic flow in parts of Accra.
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