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The first level of the Obetsebi Lamptey exchange will open to vehicular traffic next month.
It is expected to ease traffic congestion around the roundabout significantly, especially during rush hour.
Before today’s inspection of construction progress by the President, the Minister of Roads and Highways, Mr. Kwasi Amoako Atta, toured the site last week and expressed his satisfaction with the overall work on the exchange.
He told reporters that all construction work was expected to be completed by June 2021, and that the work was running smoothly, despite the challenges imposed on different facets of the work by the COVID-19 pandemic.
He expressed the hope that the opening of the first level would greatly facilitate the flow of traffic in the corridors linking Kaneshie and Graphic Road, and then the Kwame Nkrumah Circle and Abossey Okai.
However, he urged construction workers to facilitate a traffic management system to alleviate the stress that motorists and commuters had been experiencing during the construction period.
Work in progress from Graphic Road to Kaneshie Market
First phase
The first phase of the $ 35 million project consists of a two-level interchange with supplemental sewers and storm drains, and will link the Kaneshie market with Accra’s central business district and, through a loop, with the interchange area of the Kwame Nkrumah circle.
The construction site has been a very busy area for the past few months, with workers engaged day and night during the week to meet construction deadlines.
Last week, for example, a portion of the road network around the construction area was closed to traffic to allow workers to lay the pre-fabricated platforms that connect Graphic Road to the Kaneshie Expressway.
Last Sunday, the route from the roundabout to the Kwame Nkrumah loop interchange was also temporarily closed to traffic for a similar exercise.
This has resulted in a heavy traffic jam on routes to the area and consequent inconvenience for motorists and commuters.
Current stage
The Resident Engineer in charge of the consultancy, Mr. Owusu Sekyere Antwi, said that concrete columns, piers and a concrete sealing superstructure were being placed to make way for works on the deck and asphalting the surface.
He said the first phase was also expected to improve water flow in the Odaw River to reduce flooding in upstream areas.
Second stage
The second phase involves the expansion of the highway into a three-lane highway, with facilities for rapid transit buses.
You will also see the expansion of the Awudome Cemetery and Nii Teiko Din roads into double track lanes, as well as the improvement of the Kaneshie Market Terminal.
The ground level will have a remodeled roundabout, while the second level will be an east-west overpass linking Graphic Road with the Kaneshie-Mallam road.
The third level will be a north-south flyover on Ring Road West, linking the Ring Road from the RoyalHouse Chapel to the Central Mosque at Abossey Okai.
Exchange
The Obetsebi-Lamptey Circle is a major roundabout linking Kaneshie to Accra via Graphic Road; Kaneshie to the Kwame Nkrumah exchange, then Kaneshie to the Abossey Okai parts center.
The contract for the design and construction of the interchange and other ancillary works was signed in October 2016.
Source: graphic.com.gh
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