Today can report that there was a near clash between the workers of Gansu Engineering Corporation of China, a construction firm working on the fly-over and the widening of the Odaw Bridge on the Graphic Road in Accra and some commuters along that stretch.
The incident, which occurred last week, was as a result of the slow pace of construction work by the construction company alongside the severe traffic situation it generates.
This angered some commuters of the road who charged on the construction site wielding offensive weapons like sticks and stones to express their disgust with prevailing events.
The aggrieved commuters were however prevented from entering the construction premise by some able-bodied workers of the company with the help of some store owners along the stretch.
The construction of the fly-over forms part of a US90 million urban transportation project currently being piloted in Accra, Tema, Ga East, Ga South and Ga West Districts, all in the Greater Accra Region, and Kumasi and Ejisu in the Ashanti Region.
The project being executed by the company started in October 2010 as a major component of the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) aimed at creating a special lane for buses that would operate on the BRT corridor and scheduled to be completed in September this year.
The aim of the project is to enhance urban public transportation and reduce congestion on the selected roads which have been marked as heavily congested.
A visit to the site by Today revealed that work was progressing at a snail pace.
Many of the commuters who spoke to this paper on condition of anonymity bemoaned the slow pace of work, adding their anger has been fuelled by the closure of other access routes from the area to the central business district.
And this, the commuters infer, could only lead to a reduction in productivity in the city.
According to the consultant on the project, Mr Michael Lear, barring any technical hitches, the project would be completed in September this year.
He intimated that an earlier challenge which confronted the construction of steel pipes close to the rail line had been resolved.
Continuing, he explained that the steel pipes were often driven into the ground and used for deep foundations to support structures such as commercial building and bridges.
He underscored that since the foundation was close to the rail line, the passing of trains leaves a lot of dust which makes the work difficult.
A livid commuter remarked: “Please my friend we have to state clearly to you that the claim by the company that the road project is about 75 per cent complete is totally false.”
“As you see everything here attests to the fact that the claim by the company that barring any technical hitches, the project would be completed is neither here nor there,” they angrily stressed.
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