“Di accra-tema motorway be deathtrap, if you manage arrive safely, you for thank God,” one motorist tok as e dey remember near-death experiences for di highway.
Joshua Agomor dey use di road regularly, to di point say e know where all di potholes for di road dey.
“Wit experience, you go fit swerve some potholes – but pesin wey no dey use di road often, dem always dey burst dia tyre or veer into di bush,” Joshua tok BBC News Pidgin.
Dat be how dangerous di 19km highway be for motorists.
Di matter be worse at night sake of street lights no dey majority of di road wey dey connect accra to di industrial city of tema.
Joshua dey remember how some miscreants approach am say dem go help am fix im car two times as e break down at night.
But sake of e hear stories about robbery den car-jacking for di area, im make alert.
“You go see pipo dey loiter for di bushes, if your car spoil, na so dem go pounce on you.”
Some go do you wayo say dem go help, las las dem go tif your moni den car parts,” Joshua explain.
Anoda motorist, Richard Osei Roy dey remember in April 2022, how im den im two oda members of im family escape death.
“One motor rider cross our car wey e leave di bike for road, as we swerve am, we for also swerve one big pothole ahead, na so our tyre burst.”
Richard say di incident still dey haunt am anytime im go use di highway.
For pesin wey die for dat road, dem no dey alive to tell dia tori.
Bernice Amekor say im wan forget di memories of one accident wey kill two of im relatives for di road in 2016.
Im tok say dat day na “darkest day” for im life as dem call am say make e come identify di bodies for morgue.
More accidents for di highway
Di motorway wia dem construct under Ghana first president Dr Kwame Nkrumah in 1965, don kill plenty pipo, men, women den children.
Gist from di motor traffic and transport department (MTTD) of di police show say three pipo die every month for di road since 2018.
Factcheck Ghana find say “367 accidents happun for di highway, wia 136 pipo die between 2018 and 2021.”
Dia data from di MTTD show say 38 pesin die from 107 accidents for 2018.
Anoda 36 pipo die from 75 accidents in 2019, wia 22 more die afta 80 crashes in 2020.
Di factcheck ghana stats also show say 39 pipo die from 105 accidents in 2021.
During di same period (2018 – 2021), na 354 pipo hurt for dis accidents.
Since 2021 as dem abolish toll collection for di highway, vehicles dey crash into di booth sake of poor visibility.
Accident casualties don dey go up.
Goment cancel toll collection
Di minister for roads, Kwasi Amoako-Attah don announce say goment cancel collection of tolls for di kontri roads on 18 November 2021.
E tok at di time say “motor traffic and transport officers go dey dis tollbooths den provide security from dat day.”
Finance minister Ken Ofori-Atta put for budget inside say goment remove di toll system sake of “dem become unhealthy market centers wia dey cause heavy traffic for road.”
“Dem also dey increase travel time and cause pollution for di areas wey dem dey,” di minister add.
Before di abolishing, goment dey get $6m (GHC 71m) annually from di road tolls across di kontri wia dem suppose use fix roads and oda tins.
Afta dem cancel di toll system, pipo wey dey work for dis booths don lose dia jobs.
About 800 workers, wey be physically-challenged pesin dey unemployed till now, despite say goment promise dem say dem go re-assign dem.
All di tollbooths still dey road top afta dem abolish di toll collection.
Squatters take over some of di booths, pipo too don tiff di installations wia di rest turn obstruction give motorists.
Di booths for di Accra-Tema motorway be typical example.
Afta gist go viral say one squatter don turn di place into im house, authorities from di highway authority go there go sack am.
Di structures dey cause accidents.
Nartey Djabatey witness in April dis year one accident for there.
“One taxi driver crash into di abandoned tollbooth from TT brothers area dey go Accra,” he tok.
Even though e no follow up dat day im tok say e hope di driver survive am.
Di latest one don kill one pesin as fuel tanker crash wit di abandoned tollbooth on 3 September.
Pipo dey gather pressure
For sometime now road users dey pressure goment say make dem fix di motorway.
Since last year, activists dey loud dia voices make di highways authority fix di potholes den di streetlights.
Already #FixTemaMotorway movement for twitter dey gather fire.
Pipo dey use di hashtag to call on di state agencies say make dem solve di challenges for di road.
Dem also dey use di opportunity take share dia experiences for di deadly stretch.
Afta di latest accident on 3 September wia kill one pesin, goment decide say e go take some action.
Highway authority dey demolish obsolete tollbooth
Di roads and highways authority say dem award contact give two companies make dem demolish di obsolete toll booth for di motorway wey cause di recent accident.
Di exercise go cost $87k (GHC 1m), according to di authority.
One oga wey dey in charge of road safety and environment, Joseph Amedzake tok say, “di moni go be for clearing di abandoned structure and also fixing streetlight around di place wey di accident happun.”
E bi like motorists for “study all di potholes for di road den carefully find dia way around dem,” one driver Nicholas Mensah tok.
Im no believe say goment go fix dem anytime soon.
Di pothole danger mean say “I no go use dis motorway at night anymore. If I get business for Tema wia I no finish am before night, I go sleep over den return di next day.”
Im add say at least during daytime, you go fit see some of di potholes den avoid dem.
But di highway authority say dem go patch di potholes for road.
Oga Amedzake tok say “we go soon begin dey patch di potholes wia dey cause wahala to motorists. Di authority dey find contractor make e do that work.”
“But for now I go advise drivers say dem take dia time whenever dey reach di areas where di potholes dey and make dem also respect di speed limit for high way,” im add.
Reconstruction of di entire motorway
Di roads minister Kwasi Amoako-Attah don tok on 23 January 2023 say goment go soon begin di reconstruction of di accra-tema stretch of di motorway.
Already in December 2022, finance minister Ken Ofori-Atta reveal say goment procure di 27km project through di Ghana infrastructure investment fund (GIIF) under one public-private partnership.
Di roads minister say di new project be major work as “di motorway go get as many as four interchanges for various sessions.”
“Some of di lanes go rise to about ten, five for di oda side,” he tok for parliament public account committee in January.
Nine months afta, nothing happun for di motorway yet, only pesin wey dey die every time.
