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| File Photo of the scene |
Looming disaster hits Asafo Interchange in Kumasi in the Ashanti Region as safety mechanism collapse, exposing road users to danger.
Median and crash barriers which protect motorists and pedestrians are rusted and broken, making the structure a death trap
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Parts of the metal railings have collapsed with no traces of the angle-iron bars used in the fabrication.
Obviously, scrap dealers may have added it to their stock.
Other parts hang loosely and could come crashing to the ground anytime soon.
Motorists and pedestrians are at risk as any slight miscalculation could send vehicles and occupants tumbling into the valleys from a 20-metre height.
Road users told the media that they fear for their lives.
They subsequently appealed to the authorities to take immediate steps to rectify the situation before disaster strikes.
The dual carriageway interchange was constructed about 10 years ago to ease traffic congestion between the city center and various corridors.
It has not been spared the unusual negative public attitude to state property.
Unscrupulous persons throw garbage around the structure which also serves as an abode for all manner of people.
The collapse of safety systems gives serious cause for concern.
Officials at the Urban Roads Department admitted the potential danger posed by the state of the interchange.
However, they pointed to bureaucratic impediments to efforts at maintaining the interchange for public use.
“The interchange is a custodian of the department of urban roads, the traffic engineers make sure our infrastructures are in good shape, however, some drivers hit the median barriers and they render them broken and defaced. My outfit will fix and replace all the broken irons and keep the interchange in shape for public use,” they said.
Meanwhile, Kumasi Metro Urban Roads Chief Engineer, Nana Atta Poku, has assured residents of Kumasi of immediate replacement of the metal guards to protect lives and properties.
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