NRSC Inspects Roads

Mrs May Obiri-Yeboah, Chief Director of the National Road Safety Commission (NRSC), has called on all road consultants and contractors not to think of putting in place safety measures after roads have been completed, but to factor them in from the beginning. �It is not helpful if roads are constructed before safety measures are put in place for pedestrians,� she reiterated. Mrs Obiri-Yeboah made this call on an inspection tour of the newly constructed Awoshie-Pokuase road and parts of the Madina-Adenta road. According to her, the inspection was necessary to forestall a repeat of what happened on the N1 Highway when it was first constructed. Ms Obiri-Yeboah noted that the NRSC was working tirelessly to ensure that lives were no more claimed by newly constructed roads. She noted that it was wrong for a project meant to bring about growth and development to claim lives in the process. Speaking to concerns raised by the NRSC boss, Mr Kwesi A. Asa-Awuku of Lious Berge/Transtech Consultant, stated that funding for the safety measures was just secured. In his explanation, he stated that the road was in two sections, Awoshie to Palace Town and Palace Town to Pokuase, and temporal safety measures were being put in place to avoid road crashes and knockdowns. He stated that when funds are released promptly, permanent measures would be put in place. Mr Asa-Awuku assured the NRSC boss that immediate safety measures, such as ramble strips, Pelican crossing and others, would be put in place to ensure that pedestrians are safe until footbridges are constructed. Mrs Obiri-Yeboah�s advised road consultants to consult with the people in the community before the footbridges are constructed so as not to have a situation where the bridges would not be used. She also advised road users to respect all road signs and markings on the roads since there are there to help prevent any unfavourable incidents. At Anya, the Vice-Chairman of the Anya GPRTU Section, Kenneth Mensah Yamoah stated that U-turns were too far apart and that footbridges were need to help pedestrians cross the road to prevent knockdowns. On the Madina-Adenta road, safety measures such as traffic lights, street lights and road markings were no available and this, according to the Madina MTTU Divisional Commander, ASP Michael Asiedu, was posing problems for road users. According to him, in a week five crashes are recorded at the SDA junction of the Madina-Adenta road. He said this situation was worrying and needed to be attended to immediately. The Awoshie-Pokuase road was funded by the African Development Bank and Agence Francias Development and is expected to be completed by 2015.