John Mahama’s 20km Bolga-Bawku road opened

Twenty Kilometers (20km) of the 110km Bolgatanga-Bawku-Pulmakom road under construction has been completed and opened to the general public.

This is according to Chief Resident Engineer of Queiroz Galvao construction limited, Engineer Francis Hammond.
Mr. Hammond disclosed this during a working visit by the Upper East Regional Minister Rockson Bukari on the progress of work done on the road on Monday 15 August 2017.

Mr. Hammond said, about 12 percent of work has been done eight months after the contract was awarded by the NDC government in 2016, adding that, 20km of the road has been completed and opened to the public.

“The work starts from kilometre Zero thus from the Bolga-Tamale main traffic light roundabout and ends at Pulmakom which is about 110km but we are leaving out  13km between Bolga and the Red Volta because that portion was awarded to MAWUMS construction limited.

About 2.5km dual carriage portion from Kilometer Zero will be asphalted but the rest of the road is all surface dressing thus the application of three layers of bitumen and chippings with a thickness of 25mm.”

“We have tarred 20km of the road which is opened to the general public but the challenge is the use of the road by the motoring public. We have put signs along the road warning motorist and drivers not to speed more than 50km per hour but this warning more often has been overlooked,” Mr. Hammond stated.
He also appealed to drivers whose vehicles break down on the road to move their vehicles off the road.
Upper East Regional Director of Highways, Mr. Philip Samini lauded the quality of work done so far and urged them to patch some potholes along the road to enhance easy movement by vehicles plying the road.
Mr. Samini who could not fathom why MAWUMS construction limited since the award of the 13km stretch of the road from Bolga to the Red Volta in 2016 has not commenced work.
He recommended the contract be terminated if possible to a more serious contractor.

The Upper East Regional Minister, Rockson Bukari commended Queiroz Galvao construction limited for work done on the road and urged them to work within schedule.

He reiterated that his outfit in consultation with the Ministry of Roads and Highways will decide the termination of MAWUMS construction limited since they have proven incapable of executing the contract awarded them.
The project is however scheduled to be completed in 2019.

Mahama cuts sod for reconstruction of Bolga-Bawku road

President John Dramani Mahama has cut sod for reconstruction work to begin on the Bolgatanga-Bawku Road.

Speaking Monday at Zebilla in the Bawku West District of the Upper East region, the President assured Ghanaians work on the 115-kilometre-long international road would not see any delay because “funds have been made available” for the project.

President Mahama is on a two-day visit to the region as part of his “Accounting to the People” tour of the country. His trip to the region, which began Monday, is the ninth leg of his nationwide tour.

“This road runs through seven districts and runs through a total of nine constituencies. And so, it’s a very important road to many people. And that’s why government is investing in completing this road.

“Let me assure you that the funding for the road is available and so any delay in the road work would not be due to funding. The funding is fully available and the work, I believe, once it starts would continue until it is completed,” the President said amid applause from the crowd.

The road has, for decades, remained a nagging pain in the neck of the region with countless potholes widely described by agitated regular users as “potwells” and “dams” all over the stretch. It is an international road, linking Ghana to Togo and Burkina Faso.

The Member of Parliament for Zebilla and former Interior Minister, Cletus Apul Avoka, summed up the excitement of the region about the project when he addressed the crowd.

“Your Excellency, today marks an important day to the people of this region, particularly those in the Bawku Traditional Area, Nabdam and Bolgatanga who have suffered on this road. Bawku is a business and economic melting pot, a political nerve centre, a security centre and a rendezvous for the people of the Upper East. It is against this background it is important for work to begin on the road today to facilitate the movement of goods, services and people,” the MP said.

Features of the new road

Queiroz Galvão, a Brazilian company contracted to upgrade the Tamale Airport in the Northern Region to an international status, has been awarded the contract and is expected to complete the project from Bolgatanga, the regional capital, to Pulmakom in the Pusiga District in 910 days.

“Road features are going to be provided. That means speed rumps are going to be provided anywhere there are communities along the road so that they would compel drivers to reduce their speed. Road signs and all the safety features are also going to be provided.

“And it is going to have three main bridges: one over the Kola River, the other over the Red Volta and another one over the White Volta. Aside from that, there is also going to be a bypass from Azoka Senior High School to the Pusiga Road,” President Mahama also disclosed.

Highway authorities told Starr News a 2-kilometre-long portion of the road, from the traffic lights at the Mobil Roundabout in the regional capital to a spot beyond the steel bridge that joins Bolgatanga with Zuarungu, would be a dual carriage way and that it would be asphalted. Streetlights would also be provided to shower marigold lights at night particularly along the forested areas of the renewed road.

Eminent monarchs stood by the President as he sat behind the steering wheel of a bulldozer to symbolically open tool boxes for work to begin on the road. Leading the traditional figures was the Paramount Ruler of the Kusaug Kingdom, otherwise referred to as the Bawku Traditional Area, Naba Asigri Abugrago Azoka II, who is quoted to have more than just once said: “Anytime I receive a letter inviting me to Bolga for a programme, that night I don’t sleep because of this road.”

Public fears projects will stall after President’s tour
A lot of preparations are underway as the region as the President continues his tour of the region Tuesday.

At present, surfaces of old roads riddled with what observers say are best described as not potholes but “manholes” and “valleys”, are being removed in some communities to pave way for reconstruction at the visit of the President.

Heavy construction machines are busy ‘roughshod’ on the Soe-Yorogo Road towards the Bongo District, the Regional Library Road and the Tanzui Road among others. But some residents, unenthused at the development, have described the roads as “propaganda roads” and they have expressed fears those projects would come to a halt once the President ends his tour of the region.

“These are propaganda roads. Why are we seeing the roads in an election year? Some of the roads will end there the moment Mahama goes back to Accra. Some, too, the contractors will have to rush to complete them before the election. The quality will not be there,” Gideon Anafo told Starr News.

But in reply, the Upper East Regional Minister, Albert Abongo, told the public to expect thorough execution of those ongoing road projects.

“This, indeed, is an election year. But if you have 4 years to go, can you get everything started right at the beginning of the first year? No. There is a lot to do as a government. I believe there is nothing to complain about. I think that we should be happy that all these projects are happening. The contractors are known and they are determined to executive the work properly in reasonable time, if not even finished before the election time,” the Regional Minister