The Ghana Highway Authority (GHA) has commenced procurement processes to repair damaged portions of the Lower Volta Bridge, Sogakofe in the South Tongu District of the Volta Region.
The Authority said it had begun the procurement processes in April this year and had submitted bids for the repair work on the Bridge on May 17, 2018.
This came to light when a delegation from the GHA led by the Director of Bridges, Mr Yakubu Koray on Friday, met with a cross section of concerned Tongu citizens at the District Assembly Hall, Sogakofe. The delegation listened to the concerns and suggestions of the people with regards to fixing the bridge.
Mr. Koray enumerated the Authority’s progress on efforts to have the bridge fixed. He disclosed that a team from the Authority will on Monday, June 4 conduct bid evaluation leading to the selection of a contractor for the repair works on the bridge.
He appealed to the citizens to be patient with the Authority, explaining that all the materials needed in repairing the bridge would have to be imported into the country, thus, it will take the selected contractor about three months to start work on the Bridge. He added that work will however be completed within a month once it starts.
Discussions to fix the damaged portions of the Lower Volta Bridge, the Longest in Ghana had become necessary after an accident occurred on the bridge Thursday evening claiming the life of a 20-year old Bestway Mortor, injuring three others.
The accident happened when one motorist tried to swerve a pothole and collided with another rider coming from the opposite direction who also tried to overtake.
Meanwhile, there was an agreement to pair GHA engineers with those at the Assembly to mount multiple speed signs on the Bridge as well as other measures to forestall accidents on the bridge, by next week.
In attendance at the meeting were leading political leaders including former Minister for Roads and Highways and former MP for Central Tongu, current and former DCEs, current and former MPs, and the Paramount Chief of Tefle Traditional Area among others.
By: Ewoenam Kpodo/voltaonlinegh.com
