The former MP for Abokobi Madina, Alhaji Amadu Sorogho, has asked the government to immediately fix the nonfunctional footbridges on the Madina-Adentan highway to avoid more accidents and deaths.
He said the government has taken too long to respond to the cry of the people for a footbridge on that stretch of the N4 highway.
He told Kwabena Prah Jnr (The Don) on Ghana Yensom on Accra100.5FM Monday, 12 November that: “The death toll is getting to 200 and that is too much. Even if one person loses his or her life, it is needless.”
“This problem has been there for a while now, the people have been crying for the footbridge to be fixed, yet no result. The government must act,” he added.
His comments follow a decision by residents of the area to march on Monday to pile pressure on the authorities to fix all the uncompleted and unusable footbridges – a situation that has led to several knockdowns and killings of 194 pedestrians.
Pedestrians are compelled to cross the multi-lane highway at the peril of their lives due to the lack of functional footbridges.
On Thursday, 8 November 2018, angry residents of the area engaged in spontaneous riots which followed the killing of a student of the West Africa Senior High School (WASS) by a speeding car on the highway that same day.
They blocked the road with burning tyres. The police and fire service personnel had to intervene to restore calm.
The residents say Monday’s peaceful demonstration is to mount pressure on the authorities to address the situation.
The government has assured the residents that work on the six uncompleted pedestrian bridges will commence within a week.
The Ministry of Roads and Highways in collaboration with the Ministry for the Interior, have temporarily requested the Ghana Police Service to deploy officers of the Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD) to the populated areas along the highway to ensure the safety of pedestrians.