Hundreds of motorists and passengers have been left stranded at the Buipe and Yapei bridges in the Northern Region following the closure of the two linking Northern Ghana to the rest of the country.
After a routine inspection, Wednesday, Engineers revealed that the bridges were very weak and could collapse at any time, thus prompting the roads and highways minister, Kwesi Amoako Atta to close down the bridges for repair works to commence.
The minister who announced the immediate closure of the bridges said a sag and deep cracks have been created in the middle of the bridges which were very dangerous and posed a serious threat to commuters. A month period has been set aside for the damage works and the Minister warned all motorist to stay off the over 238m long bridges.
“I want to appeal to our Northern brothers who regularly use these bridges, it’s going to create problems for the one month or so with great inconveniences to them. I want to appeal with them on behalf of the President and his government to bear it with us and as I said, everything would be done to make sure we do what is right to replace these bridges. What we have seen is very scary, it’s frightening and we must not sit down for any disaster to strike this country”, the minister said.
However, there is heightening tension among residents and commuters as hundreds are stranded and economic activities in the area have been brought to a halt.
Reports indicate that most of the commuters coming from other parts of the country to the bridge were not aware of the closure and have been stranded for days.
A passenger who explains that he was on his way to Burkina Faso from Kumasi narrated, “We were not aware of any closure, we have been here for more than five days without food or water. We are also finding it difficult to go back because the alternative route is quite far and we have spent most of our monies here.”
Heavy trucks carrying goods from the port to factories and commercial stores in Northern Ghana and neighbouring countries are stranded around Yeji and Makango as they tried to make their journey through the Central corridor.
There are reports of millions of goods on its way to destinations locked up and perishing while ambulance and referral services to the Northern regional capital remain grounded.
Meanwhile, the District Chief Executive for Central Gonja where the bridge is located, Dr. Mustapha Mahama has said that although it is very unfortunate that people are stuck and business activities have ceased, work has begun on the bridges and it will soon be fixed. He further advised commuters to comply with the roads Ministry’s directive to use alternative routes to reach their destinations.
www.primenewsghana.com/ Ghana News
