President of the Republic of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has commissioned the Accra Traffic Management Centre, describing it as a major step in addressing congestion in Accra, the nation’s capital.
Speaking at the Department of Urban Roads, President Akufo-Addo stressed the need for a free flow of traffic in most parts of Accra as well as ensuring the safety of road users.
President Akufo-Addo said, “This is critical to the development of the country and to enhancing the growth of key sectors of the economy”.
He added that the current traffic situation puts immense pressure on most facilities in the capital hence the need for the Accra Traffic Management Centre.
“The Centre, the first of its kind in the country and in West Africa will co-ordinate effectively to our capital’s traffic light system, so as to guarantee efficient communications within our traffic light system, thereby ensuring a much smarter way of dealing with congestion on our roads,” he reiterated.
A total of forty-one (41) traffic lights have been upgraded between the Neoplan Assembly Plant at Achimota and the Central Business District of Accra.
The upgrade includes the changing of traffic controllers from “isolated intersection controllers”, which could not communicate with each other, to “interconnected adaptive controllers”.
This allows the controllers to communicate with each other along the corridor.
With the Traffic Management Centre, President Akufo-Addo noted that engineers can directly change the signal timings from the centre instead of the old system, where they had to carry their tools directly to the field to effect the change.
“The new system has integration with the Public Transport system, like the Ayalolo buses, so that priority can be given to public transport at the intersections,” he explained.
The President revealed further that cameras are being installed to capture traffic light violations – a move which will help the Police Service get access to real-time evidence of traffic offences.
The Accra Traffic Management Centre represents Phase 1 of a broader programme to improve mobility, and reduce congestion in the nation’s capital.
President Akufo-Addo urged the Ministry of Roads and Highways and the Department of Urban Road to ensure the proper maintenance of the Accra Traffic Management Centre.