Contractors working on the four bypasses of the Accra-Kumasi Highway are encountering significant challenges due to large, uncovered pits left by illegal miners in the communities where these infrastructure projects are underway.
These pits are obstructing progress, particularly in swampy areas where ongoing rains have exacerbated the situation
The government’s initiative to construct bypasses at Osino, Anyinam, Enyiresi, and Konongo aims to alleviate congestion and reduce the high incidence of crashes on the Accra-Kumasi Highway.
The projects include an 11.6km bypass at Osino, 6.1km at Anyinam, 10.6km at Enyiresi, and a 13.5km bypass at Konongo.
Once completed, these bypasses are expected to significantly reduce travel time on this crucial highway.
Illegal mining activities near the Osino and Anyinam project sites continue to pose problems, with miners leaving pits uncovered after extracting resources.
This issue is mirrored at the Konongo bypass site, where contractors are struggling to fill the swampy areas with boulders to maintain progress.
Dolittle Kwaku Sintim-Aboagye, the team leader of STIM Limited, the consulting firm for the Osino bypass, highlighted additional challenges including compensation payments and adverse weather conditions.
“This place is a farming area and so there are compensation issues but the Ghana Highways Authority and the ministry are helping us,” he said.
Additionally, the severity of the rains has been a significant impediment, with Sintim-Aboagye noting that the unusually intense rainfall has hampered progress.
Despite these obstacles, efforts are being made to address the challenges.
The Ghana Highways Authority and the relevant ministry are working alongside contractors to mitigate the impact of compensation issues and severe weather.
However, the uncovered pits left by illegal mining remain a persistent problem that needs to be resolved to ensure the timely completion of these critical infrastructure projects.
As the work continues, the government and contractors remain committed to overcoming these challenges to deliver the bypasses, which will improve travel efficiency and safety on the Accra-Kumasi Highway.
“We have some mining companies and they have their terrace ponds and our alignments go through these terrace ponds so it is either we shift the ponds or go through them and we decided to go through them and that meant the mining companies must decommission these terrace ponds and that is also taking some time, and it is affecting us,” Sintim-Aboagye explained.
He further elaborated on the compensation issues arising from the project’s encroachment on farming areas.
