Odaw River Bridge To Be Demolished To Pave Way For Circle Interchange

The two-way bridge spanning the Odaw River at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle, near the Neoplan Station, will soon be demolished to pave the way for the construction of an overhead as part of the Circle Interchange project. Before the demolition, however, another bridge will be built behind the Neoplan Station to connect motorists who use the station to the Nsawam Road. The Chief Resident Engineer on the project, Mr Atta Kwaw Diafo, told the Daily Graphic that work on the new bridge was scheduled to begin next week. He explained that once that bridge was completed, motorists moving from the Obetsebi-Lamptey Roundabout and adjoining roads would no longer need to use the Kwame Nkrumah Circle. �All traffic will be diverted onto the third bridge,� he said. Work on the three-tier interchange, which started in September last year, is being undertaken by a Brazilian construction firm, Queiroz Galvao, at a cost of 74 million euros. Work on schedule Significant work has been carried out on the foundations of the interchange. So far, three out of the four support piers for the Nsawam-Kwame Nkrumah Avenue have been completed. Concerning the Akasanoma-Nsawam road, Mr Diafo said, �We have done all the foundations, two abutments and four supports.� The abutments are sited at the end of the bridges and in between the bridges are the supporting piers. According to Mr Diafo, four of the abutments has been completed, among other works. For his part, the Contract Superintendent of Queiroz Galvao, Mr Andre Luiz Albuquerque Carvalho, indicated that motorists would appreciate the extent of work done by July this year. He explained that prefabricated beams from Portugal and Spain would be mounted on the completed piers by that time. �We will deliver 100 per cent of the project by next year, which is the scheduled date for completion, but before that time we will release areas that have been completed to help manage traffic,� he stated. The new design �The roadside drains define the limit of the road, so once those are accepted, we can now work in between the drains on the left and the right,� Mr Diafo said. The first level flyover of the new project will be between the Akasanoma road, towards the Accra Newtown junction on the Nsawam road, as well as from the Newtown junction to the Kwame Nkrumah Avenue, around PTC in the opposite direction. The second level flyover is on the Ring Road between the Fanofa Bridge and Feo Oyo and connects the Ring Road Central to the Ring Road West. The ground level has a roundabout at the existing circle. The Ring Road flyover also lifts the Ring Road above the Odaw River and the rail line. Meanwhile, the relocation of some utility lines, water, electricity and telecommunications is going on.