Roads Ministry clears air on Tamale interchange project

The Roads and Highways Ministry has assured that the current construction of Tamale Interchange fits the specific criteria and standards of the Ministry, dismissing calls for a structural audit of the ongoing project.

It comes barely a week after the Member of Parliament for Tamale South, Haruna Iddrisu, called for a structural audit of the interchange after inspecting the project on the back of complaints from some residents of the area.

“The essence of this project was to reduce pedestrian and vehicular traffic and to allow for free flow of persons and goods and services. We are afraid that if the project is not completed timely and structurally to the request of the engineers, as approved by Parliament, we may suffer the same congestion and traffic,” the MP claimed.

He further called on the supervising consultant, the Ministry of Roads and Highways and the Department of Urban Roads to undertake a structural audit of the performance of the contractor in order to guarantee and ensure value for money for the $46 million project.

Response

Reacting to the development in a statement issued yesterday, the Roads and highway Ministry said the project is structurally sound. It was categorical in saying that the Tamale Interchange project had been undertaken in accordance with the standards and specifications of the Ministry.

The Ministry explained that the bridge had been designed to have a 100-year design life, with its design going through a rigorous process of approval before implementation.

“In line with best practice, the Ministry appointed an independent supervision consultant to superintend the execution of the works. All test results conducted during construction have proven to be above the required specifications. The Ministry assures all Ghanaians that the necessary steps have been taken to ensure the bridge’s stability and value for money,” part of the statement said.

It added: “As far as the project is concerned, all the space required to construct the interchange has been acquired and compensated for. The project does not need any additional space, and therefore, there is no need to demolish any other structures”.

The Ministry emphasised the need to provide this clarification to assure the people of Tamale and Ghanaians that the “Tamale interchange is structurally sound, intended for its purpose, and will improve traffic flow in the Central Business District of Tamale and the country as a whole”.