Work on the 53 kilometer road network in Tema,Ashaiman and Kpone estimated at GH¢30 million has began.
The project which includes 20.10 km asphaltic surface, 33.1 km bituminous surface seal, 18.30 km asphaltic road surface and 15 km of upgrade of unpaved roads is being funded by the government.
The Vice President Mr John Dramani Mahama who inspected the work, disclosed that all traffic lights in the Tema metropolis would also be changed to a new system which would have a back up of 48 hours during power outages.
Mr Mahama noted that the decline nature in revenue estimates from the Ghana Road Fund had complicated the situation, leading to the steady deterioration of the road infrastructure.
He said accessible drainage systems, sidewalks, pedestrian and bicycle safety improvements were also affected by the shortfall.
The Vice President observed that most of the country’s urban areas were facing increasing traffic congestion problems due to factors among which are the deplorable condition of the road network.
He said expenditure on road maintenance was substantial,relative to the overall national budget but it had not yielded expected returns.
He indicated that government deemed it necessary to arrest the situation and save the road networks and the economy from imminent collapse.
Mr Mahama said government was committed to the needs of the vast majority of the Ghanaian and would do all that is within its power legally to make the country a better place after 2012.
He said there would be transparency in the collection of road tolls and that there would be yearly publications of the results of the revenue generated and disbursement from the tolls.
The Minister for Roads and Highways Mr Joe Gidisu who accompanied the Vice President on his rounds said Tema Metropolis has a total road network of 1,331km made up of 572 km paved and 759 unpaved road.
He said after the rains in 2009,there was drastic deterioration in the conditions of the roads in Tema and the Metropolis has only 30 percent of the network in good condition.
He said some critical areas that were identified to be included in the rehabilitation and upgrading project were the central business districts,Tema Oil Refinery (TOR)road, Kpone main road, Ashaiman–Zeenu road, Tema Beach road Meridian roads, Lashibi and Klagon roads in addition to the defective traffic lights.
Mr Gidisu said the Road Fund was servicing a loan facility that was taken from Social Security and National Insurance Trust in 2007 and was optimistic that increment in the tolls would facilitate the repayment of the loan as well as support more of the road maintenance works .
He called on the Assemblies to be proactive in their supervisory roles in the rehabilitation works to achieve the objectives of the investments and appealed to the contractors working on the projects to adhere to the quality specifications since anything short of it will not be tolerated.
The Chiefs and Elders of Kpone and Tema witnessed the ceremony.
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