Long queues at Tarkwa and Takoradi stations due to road block at Ewusiejo

Correspondence from the Western Region

The Tarkwa and Takoradi lorry stations were full of people who wanted to travel to Takoradi or Tarkwa on Friday, October 27, 2023.

These people were stranded due to the roadblock at Ewusiejo in the Ahanta West Municipality for the past four days.

At both Tarkwa and Takoradi stations, there was a long queue of passengers who were waiting for their turn to buy tickets to get the next available car.

The roadblock was a result of an Ivorian-bound cargo truck which fell into a heavy rut on the road at Ewusiejoe in the Ahanta West Municipal Assembly and could not come out of it.

The truck broke down, perhaps, due to the continuous attempts to come out of the rut. As a result, hundreds of vehicles at both ends of the road have been locked up leaving scores of passengers stranded.

Commuters who are in a hurry for meetings and other businesses either have to use the service of okada or pragya to beat the traffic and take a different vehicle to their destination.

Speaking to GhanaWeb, Nicholas Asante who is a student at the University of Education, Winneba, said: "I have Exams in Takoradi this weekend, so I wanted to go early so that I can get enough time to study for my exams tomorrow and Sunday, but look at me now."

A Takoradi-bound driver Yaw Mensah who spoke in an interview told GhanaWeb, "The cars are not coming because of the road block, all the drivers are on the road. Me for instance, I spent six hours on this road before I got to my destination, so until something is done about it, passengers will continue to be stranded."

"We are appealing to the Ghana Highway Authority, and the government to find a lasting solution to the bad nature of the road because we are suffering a lot", he added.

Meanwhile, the MTTD of the Ghana Police Service and the National Road Safety Authority are on the road directing traffic to avoid further confusion on the road.

Graders and heavy road construction equipment have been assembled at Ewusiejo, awaiting the removal of the cargo truck to get that portion of the road fixed.