The Ministry of Roads and Highways has dismissed calls for a structural audit of the ongoing Tamale interchange project.
It comes barely a week after the MP for Tamale South, Haruna Iddrisu called for a structural audit of the interchange after inspecting the project on the back of complaints from some residents in the area.
“The essence of this project was to reduce pedestrian and vehicular traffic and to allow for free flow of persons and goods and services. We’re afraid that if the project is not completed timely and structurally to the request of the engineers as approved by Parliament, we may suffer the same congestion and traffic” Iddrisu said.
“I’m calling on the supervising consultant, the Ministry of Roads and Highways and the Department of Urban Roads to undertake a structural audit of the performance of the contractor in order to guarantee and ensure value for money for this US$46 million project,” he added.
Reacting to the development in a statement, the roads ministry said the project is structurally sound.
“We wish to state categorically that the Tamale Interchange project has been undertaken in accordance with the standards and specifications of the ministry. The bridge has been designed to have a 100-year design life. The design went through a rigorous process of approval before implementation.
“In line with best practice, the ministry appointed an independent supervision consultant to superintend the execution of the works. All test results conducted during construction have proven to be above the required specifications. The ministry assures all Ghanaians that the necessary steps have been taken to ensure the bridge’s stability and value for money,” the statement said.
It added: “As far as the project is concerned, all the space required to construct the interchange has been acquired and compensated for. The project does not need any additional space, and therefore, there is no need to demolish any other structures.
“It has become necessary to provide this clarification to assure the people of Tamale and Ghanaians that the Tamale interchange is structurally sound, intended for its purpose and will improve traffic flow in the Central Business District of Tamale and, by extension, the country.”
