Roads Ministry to build temporary bridges, pathways in North East

The Ministry of Roads and Highways is to construct temporary bridges and pathways as a matter of urgency on sections of roads in the North East Region that were washed away by floods last Wednesday.

The move is a stopgap measure to open up traffic for pedestrians as the ministry makes efforts to fix the collapsed bridges and roads as soon as possible.

The Deputy Minister of Roads and Highways, Stephen Jalulah, who announced this after he led a delegation to visit the North East Region to assess the extent of damage to roads caused by the rain, said the immediate but temporary solution would involve the construction of temporary walkways and diversionary pathways to make the roads passable.

Also, in the coming weeks, the roads will be permanently fixed, while there will also be the construction of additional culverts to hold future floodwaters.

Impact

Parts of the West Mamprusi and East Mamprusi municipalities were submerged following the four-hour downpour.

Walewale, the West Mamprusi Municipal capital, has been cut off from Nalerigu, the regional capital, as a bridge and a dam at Tinguri were swept away by the floods, making the main road linking the two towns inaccessible.

The situation has rendered residents of the affected communities homeless while passengers travelling from Walewale to Nalerigu and adjoining towns have also been left stranded.

One of the roads washed away by the floods

A number of houses, farmlands, livestock and other property were also swept away by the floodwaters.

Some of the affected communities are Gaagbini, Tinguri, Mimima, Kuruguduri, Walewale and Nalerigu.

As of yesterday, Nalerigu remained inaccessible, with officials of NADMO still rescuing victims.

Visit

The Deputy Minister was accompanied by the North East Regional Minister, Yidana Zakaria; the Chief Executive of the West Mamprusi Municipal Assembly, Issahaku Aremeyaw Somo; the Member of Parliament for Nalerigu/Gambaga, Issifu Seidu Baba, and some technical staff of the ministry and road sector agencies.

The delegation toured Gaagbini, Tinguri, Nalerigu and Gbuntiri, which were severely hit by the disaster.

Permanent solution

Mr Jalulah said the ministry was not only looking at bridges but also roads that deteriorated as a result of the floods.

He said a team of engineers from the ministry and the Ghana Highways Authority were currently assessing the extent of damage so as to get contractors on-site to fix the situation.

“We have already engaged two contractors to fix the damaged roads and bridges.

For now, they will create temporary bridges, fix some alternative roads for the people to use as we work hard to fix the problem,” he said.

Aside from the roads, the deputy minister said the dam that broke its banks, resulting in the damage to a section of the road at Tinguri, would also be fixed.