Parts of Tumu – Bolga trunk road washed away by flood

Hundreds of passengers and farmers travelling along Tumu-Navrongo-Bolga Highway have been left stranded in Dimajang, ten kilometres from Tumu in the Sissala East Municipal after a portion of the road was washed away by a flood.

Sissala East Assembly engineers are attributing the collapse of that section of the road to the removal of some culverts which protected an important bridge from high volumes of water.

The situation has disrupted transportation as Metro Mass bus and other vehicles moving from both Bolga to Tumu and Wa have either been forced to cancel the journey or left to stop at Dimajang and exchange passengers with other vehicles.

As at 1430 hours on Friday when the Ghana News Agency visited the damaged portion of the road, scores of passengers were seen waiting since morning to proceed on alternative routes.

Mr Karim Nanyua, the Sissala East Municipal Chief Executive, visited the area and has also been discussing the situation with the contractor- Mawums Company Limited, to find an immediate solution.

The MCE assured the public that efforts were being made to ensure that passengers and vehicles use the road immediately.

Sources close to the highway authorities told the GNA that many parts of the Banu through to the Sissili Bridge that divides the Upper West Region from the Upper East Region have started developing deep potholes.

Later on Friday, Mr Amidu Chinnia Issahaku, the Deputy Upper West Regional Minister, also visited the area and assured pedestrians and drivers that an “emergency attention” would be given to the road to ensure it is fixed by Saturday.

He described the situation as a disaster and stressed that the contractor would be on site by Saturday.

Boxes of tomatoes, bags of rice and several provisions and perishable goods were being offloaded to vehicles on either sides of the road.

The 250-kilometre road is being constructed through an African Development Bank facility, according to the Ghana Highway Authority.

The stranded commuters and farmers called on government to bring the contractor back to site to complete the Banu to Tumu highway.

The Upper West and East regions remains the only two regions yet to be connected by tarred road.

The regions operate mostly on feeder roads, usually submerged by floods and broken culverts, thereby disrupting transportation of foodstuff from rural communities as well as affecting health and education delivery as my staff refuse postings to the areas.