THE construction of the second phase of Tema Motorway Grade Separation Project is expected to commence in September this year. This follows the signing of a close to $25 million grant facility for the project with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
This phase will see the construction of a third-tier flyover from Harbour Road to Ashaiman on the N2. The flyover will be a composite bridge structure and ramps. JFE Engineering Corporation will implement the project, which also involves the construction of axillary road works. The roads have a total length of 1.75km between Harbour Road–Ashaiman.
Other works include the construction of drainage and safety facilities. These facilities include crash barriers and road signs, and the installation of streetlights. The project is expected to be completed in November 2024. It will bring to completion the construction of a 3-tier interchange at the Tema Motorway Roundabout.
According to the Minister for Roads and Highways, Kwasi Amoako-Attah, ‘When completed, the Tema Motorway Roundabout project will make it easier for the Tema Harbour to clear goods quickly. In addition, it will end traffic jams at the Tema roundabout, and improve trade integration and economic growth in the ECOWAS sub-region.’
The Minister adds that the project will also lower the cost of doing business in Ghana. This will be achieved by lowering vehicle operating costs, reducing travel time, and improving mobility.
Amoako-Attah said Ghana will continue to collaborate with JICA in undertaking key road infrastructure programmes. According to the minister, the programmes will mainly be aimed at regional integration and enhancement of trade within the ECOWAS sub-region.
The Tema Motorway Grade Separation project is not a stand-alone project. It is going to bring a lot of benefits to two areas: create the Tema Arterial Roads and Tema Motorway Project. Upon completion, the Tema arterial roads linking this roundabout to the ongoing port expansion being undertaken by Meridian Port Services would have come to an end. The plan is to open up all arterial roads from this roundabout to link the port expansion project through the Tema Hospital road into a dual two-by-three lane road.
At the same time, it will link Tema Motorway with the Tetteh Quarshie interchange in Accra, and the project is designed in such a way that by the time this particular project comes to a close the Tema motorway, as part of the Abidjan-Lagos project, which is being turned into a 6 lane dual carriage highway, would have also been completed, remodelled and redesigned to ease the current congestion at the Tetteh Quarshie interchange.
The Motorway forms an integral part of the Trans-Africa Highway, stretching from Lagos through Lomé, Accra, and Abidjan to Dakar, and effectively serves as the junction to the sub-region and the Grade Separation forms part of the Improvement of Ghanaian International Road Corridors project.