GH¢420,000 for Yapei bridge maintenance

The Minister of Roads and Highway, Mr Kwasi Amoako Atta has disclosed to DAILY GUIDE that it will cost government GH? 420,000 to repair the Yapei Bridge.

The Yapei Bridge in the Central Gonja District of the Northern Region has been closed for repair works.

The closure, which started yesterday, will be from 6am-6pm and only vehicles weighing up to 21 tonnes will be allowed to cross the bridge.

The Minister indicated that the rehabilitation project will take 30 days to complete.

He indicated that it will be a partial closure which will not cause any inconveniences to travelers on that road.

“The team will make personal sacrifices to work in the night which will be part of reducing the inconvenience to travelers.”

The minister explained that government cannot continue rehabilitating the Buipe and Yapei bridges after every two years indicating that government will look for funds to replace them permanently.

He said replacing them is the best technical advice and it would cost an average of $25million each.

He assured that the Daboya Bridge would be worked on due to its importance to the country.

The Northern Regional Minister Salifu Saeed commended the road minister for making roads within the Northern Region his priority adding that the road links the North and the South as well as countries like Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger and others to the country’s port hence its significance.

According to him, the three regions of the north are the bread basket of the country and Africa as a whole because Ghana exports to other African countries.

“If the two bridges collapse, then it means a lot of foodstuffs would be locked up and that will affect the economy.”