Building projects on Aburi mountain to blame for rockfall – Highway Authority
The Ghana Highway Authority has blamed activities of real estate developers on the Aburi mountain for the recent rockfall experienced on the Accra-Aburi road.
The Authority also chided the local assemblies for giving permits for such developments to take place on top of the hill.
A rockfall which happened on Sunday is the second in less than a month on the same stretch.
Speaking to Citi News, Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Ghana Highway Authority Diana Siade was unhappy with the projects on top of the mountain.
“What was found after the feasibility surveys was that the sedimentary rocks are eating away. Moreover, if you go to the top right now you’ll be amazed at how people have built houses there. That is not the doing of the Ghana Highway [Authority], but the assemblies giving permit for this. The assemblies have engineered it so we don’t know what is going on,” she said.
“Their activities are contributing to the failure of the slope because some of the projects are right on the slope. Let’s even take the road out of the equation and look at the safety of the individuals in the homes up there. You wonder what they are really thinking to live to close to the edge of the slope.”
She said the Authority is putting measures in place to fix the issue.
“We are closing it [the road] so that we come back to work on it. It’s not going to be temporary because it’s still raining. The issue is not just about nature failing itself but the activities at the top by individuals is also putting pressure on the slope. Because the water is gathering and swelling at certain places and breaking walls, hence eroding the earth’s surface. Rock masses have also eaten away overtime so we really need to come back and get this over with,” she stated.
The Ghana Highway Authority on Sunday blocked the Accra bound section of the Peduase-Ayi Mensah road to vehicular traffic following yet another rockfall on the stretch.
The Authority, in a statement, advised motorists to use the Dome- Kitase- Berekusu road as an alternative.
“The Ghana Highway Authority announces for the information of motorist that the Accra bound carriageway, the lane from the Peduase lodge to Ayi Mensah on the Accra-Aburi road has been closed to vehicular traffic. The Peduase Lodge to Ayi Mensah section of the road has suffered some slope failures and rockfall which invariably affect the existing halfway. The slope has been assessed to have the potential for further rock falls and slope failures,” the statement said.
Meanwhile, a non-governmental environmental conservation organization A Rocha Ghana has also asked that all construction and real estate developmental activities on the Ayi Mensah Peduase hill be halted.
Daryl Bossu, the Deputy Director of A-Rocha Ghana was of the view that residents occupying properties uphill are living in danger and if immediate steps are not taken to move the residents and halt activities uphill, the situation will further deteriorate.