Work on the 74 million euros Kwame Nkrumah Circle intersection project is scheduled to be completed by June this year.
Currently, more than 73 per cent of work on the second and final phase of the project has been completed.
Second phase
Speaking to the Daily Graphic in an interview, the Director of the Department of Urban Roads, Dr Abass Awolu, said work on the two-phase project was ahead of schedule. The second and final phase involves the construction of a third flyover to link Ring Road Central to Ring Road West.
Work on the loop, which will connect the interchanges, is also near completion.
Other parts of the project include the replacement of the statue of Ghana’s first President, Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah, with a new one, the construction of a fountain, a police post and a new lorry park.
Drivers who operated at the Kaneshie-Odorkor Lorry Station and the Odorna Lorry Station which were located in the area have been relocated temporarily to areas along the railway line to make way for the upgrading of the bus terminal into a modern facility.
Phase one
Under Phase One, two interchanges linking the Akasanoma Road from the Nsawam Road and a second that links the Nsawam Road to the Nkrumah Avenue around the GCB Towers were inaugurated by President John Mahama on August 7, 2015 and have since been opened to traffic.
Benefits
The completion of the project will, among other things, ease traffic congestion and reduce travel time and vehicle operating cost to stimulate local economic growth.
During a visit to the site last Monday, the Daily Graphic team saw workers busily working on the third flyover and making preparations for the upgrading of the Nkrumah Circle bus terminal.
Some commuters and business operators at the construction area, including Ms Matilda Mensah, a trader, expressed their joy over the project and the benefits they stood to enjoy on its completion.
Mr James Atandoh, a driver at the Circle Lorry Park, said despite the inconvenience the construction posed to commercial transport businesses and trading activities, the people were optimistic that when it was completed, doing business there, as well as pedestrian movement, would be far better than before.
President Mahama cut the sod for the construction of the three-tier interchange at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle in October 2013. It was originally scheduled to be completed in 24 months.
The Kwame Nkrumah Circle is a key intersection in the arterial road network in Accra. It links the suburban areas of the city to the central business district.
The project is being funded with a loan from the Brazilian government and being executed by Queiroz Galvao, a Brazilian company.
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