Men working on the collapsed bridge
THE EIKWE Bridge spanning River Amanzule on the Alabokazo-Eikwe Krisan main road is caving in barely a month after it was rehabilitated.
The bridge is one of two in the Ellembelle district that were recently rehabilitated to extend and strengthen them to facilitate the transportation of pipelines and heavy machinery to the site of the gas processing plant project at Atuabo.
Earlier while conducting Western Regional Minister, Paul Evans Aidoo round the completed project, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Ghana National Gas Company (GNGC), Dr. George Sipa Yankey, indicated the rehabilitation was done by the Ghana Highway Authority and funded by GNGC at the cost of GH?270,000.
DAILY GUIDE has gathered that big trucks carrying laterites from Alabokazo to the gas project site at Atuabo for some filling work there are not able to cross the bridge.
A visit to the site on Saturday revealed that only small passenger vehicles were allowed to travel on the bridge which had become a deathtrap.
The big trucks contracted to carry the laterites had been parked apparently because they could not use the bridge and the drivers refused to talk about the issue when the paper contacted them.
About a month ago, during a tour to the area by NPP 2012 Presidential Candidate, Nana Addo Akufo-Addo, the bridge which linked the St Martin De Porres Hospital was ordered to be pulled down for maintenance works.
Consequently, the NPP flag bearer had to abandon his vehicle and walk over the bridge in order to enter Eikwe to get to the hospital. At the time, some saw the move as an attempt to frustrate Nana Addo?s tour to the area.
Most of the indigenes were also seen around the bridge discussing why it should be caving-in after spending a whopping GH?270,000 to rehabilitate it barely a month ago.
Some of them told the paper they suspected that no rehabilitation was actually done on it except to remove the metal slabs when Nana Addo visited the area and re-fix them after he left.
Meanwhile officials of the Ghana Highway Authority in the Western region have denied carrying out any maintenance work on the Eikwe Bridge as was asserted by Sipa Yankey and directed DAILY GUIDE to contact the Department of Feeder Roads.
When contacted, Mr. Akosah-Koduah, Western Regional Manager of the Department of Feeder Roads said the issue of the Eikwe Bridge caving in had not come to his notice and that he would ask his district officers to visit the area to give him the situational report.
From Emmanuel Opoku, Eikwe
