New Airport - Spintex By pass is a security risk

Last week, the Minister of Roads, Hon. Fuseini Inusah was dancing Azonto, Agbadza and Damba dances in glee touring and inspecting the newly built road in Accra from the Airport Polo Grounds to Spintex Road, which crosses the railway bridge through an underbridge with officials of the Ministry and the press..

It was all fanfare as he cited it as a redeeming feature which will decongest the Tettey Quarshie Roundabout which creates discomfort and agony amongst drivers and passengers traversing the interchange to and from Accra, Achimota, Tema, Spintex and Legon and Adenta and the areas around. One remembers that the NDC and their attack wolves have over the years ridiculed President Kufuor for building theTettey Quarshie Overpass in 2004 with that design and plan which has generated traffic almost to uncontrollable levels around the area. They had called Kufuor all kinds of dirty names in their stinking books and even called for his crucifixion.

So the natural thinking has been that the new Spintex road as described above would do wonders and free the area of the unwanted traffic because vehicles would move freely to the satisfaction of everybody in the vicinity. I shudder to observe that Inusah Fuseini and his Ministry people have rather proved to be myopic and visionless with their much touted additions after all. The situation at the airport frontage is going to be chaotic and catastrophic. Hardly did Inusah Fuseini and his men know that the traffic situation to be dictated by the new road or by -pass is a monkee trap after all. Clearly, Fuseini Inusah and his officials in the Ministry, out of enthusiasm or political contemplations or both did not assess properly the effect of the new road.

Presently, all the Spintex Road traffic in and out of Accra are using the tiny airport roundabout. Most of the East Legon and Adjiriganoh traffic in and out are also using the same tiny airport. Some of the Legon, Madina, Adenta, Dodowa traffic from Accra are also using the roundabout etc etc. With the presence of the airport city in the neighbourhood, can the airport Roundabout popularly called the Big Six Roundabout contain the heavy traffic to be generated? The airport entrance is clearly destined to be a lockout area and international and local passengers and visitors will clearly suffer avoidable discomfort, irritations and anxiety.

Any international airport, as KIA is, is a security area almost at the same level as the Flagstaff House, the home of the President, especially in this era of Boko Haram and other terrorists and I wonder if the congestion there will be acceptable. When Legon Toll booths at Okponglo created nasty tailbacks some time ago, it became a national concern and crazy Col Gbevlo Lartey , the then National Security Coordinator struck like a Cowboy and a showboy and demolished it overnight. So how is Baba Kamara, the new National Security capo going to act on this? Is he also going to act crazy?

Hon Inusah Fuseini and his men did not put much intellectual analysis into the issue at all. They have failed. Solomon Nkansa, the NDC National Chief Propagandist described Bui Dam as useless project. He should look for a word to describe the new Airport by- pass to the Spintex Road. He should also tell us whether President Mahama needs crucifixion now as President Kufuor needed at one time..

John Yawose