A steel bridge in Navio, in the Kassena-Nankana District of the Upper East Region, remains unfixed 11 months after its collapse. The steel bridge collapsed after a heavy-duty articulated truck loaded with rosewood used it.
The 30-year-old bridge, which already had severe structural defects, could not withstand the weight of the truck, thus leading to its total collapse.
When the DCE for the area, Gerard Ataogye, spoke on A1 Radio’s Day Break Upper East show in September last year, he mentioned that steel parts for the reconstruction of the bridge were underway.
“It is a very wide river so what we did in the dry season was to, within the river, create a place for cars and motorbikes to ply. With these heavy rains, all that has been washed away. Myself and the hardworking regional minister met the minister for roads and he assured us of working on it. The point is, a team came to check [the broken bridge] and considering the wide nature of it [the river], they tried to see if they can shift and use concrete but the technical people are saying the steel bridge would be the best … in our conversation with the sector minister, [it came to light] that they are importing steel materials from the UK. When it [the steels] come, they will work on it,” he said.
Despite the information provided by the DCE earlier, the situation remains unchanged. When the Assemblyman for the Navio Electoral Area, Roland Apugibo, spoke on the Day Break Upper East Show today, February 6, 2023, he said there have been no positive responses from the Assembly.
“Over the past 11 months, nothing concrete has happened. To be frank with you, we made so many appeals, wrote so many letters, and nothing concrete, I can say, has been done,” he said.
Mr. Apugibo explained that even before the collapse of the bridge, he had reached out to the assembly to help correct the defects in the bridge. After the entire collapse of the bridge, he was informed that the scope of work fell beyond the capacity of the Assembly. As such, details of what needed to be done were sent to the Roads Ministry.
The situation poses grave danger to residents who ply the route, according to the Assemblyman.
Source: A1radioonline.com|101.1MHz|Mark Kwasi Ahumah Smith|Ghana
