Drivers concerned about deplorable Tamale-Bolga road

Story: Benjamin Xornam Glover, Pwalugu
March 31
SOME drivers and other road users plying the Bolgatanga-Tamale Highway have expressed their anger at the deteriorating portions of the road.
The drivers complained bitterly that the road between the Pwalugu Bridge, Winkongo and Bolgatanga had developed deep pot-holes which posed great danger to road users.
“Master, this is an international highway linking Ghana with countries like Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger and other Sahelian nations and we expect the government to quickly move in to solve the problem, but it has persisted all these years,” one driver said.
“How can a major road be in such a shape? We want the government to see to this road in order to prevent fatal accidents. As you can see, the vehicles have no other option than meander along the deplorable road at great risk. We do not want innocent travellers to lose their lives as a result of the bad nature of the road," another driver stressed.
When contacted, the Regional Director of the Ghana Highway Authority, Mr Francis Hammond, conceded that the problem had persisted for a number of years, but was quick to say that measures had been put in place to reconstruct the road.
 He said before December, last year, the problem was on the stretch from the Pwalugu bridge all the way to the outskirts of Bolgatanga “but as of today, the bad area has been rehabilitated, leaving only the 100-metre stretch; that is, between BOST and Bolgatanga Senior High School. We are still on it and hopefully it would be repaired soon,” he said.
According to Mr Hammond, contractors who were awarded contracts on the road failed to execute it, adding that most of the time, the contractors complained of poor cash flow.
“I can assure you that within the next couple of weeks, the problem will be rectified,” he stressed.