Overtaken by events

By Kofi Akordor
For well over two hours there was no vehicular movement. All vehicles were trapped in heavy traffic which stretched kilometres, spilling in all directions. Those driving from the Accra-end of the Motorway suffered in the same way as those coming from Tema using the dual carriage from the Tema Port. Those going to Accra were naturally affected, and so while the empty road beckoned, the vehicles could not disentangle themselves from the trap at the roundabout.
The confusion and frustration at the Tema end of the Motorway needs to be experienced and not just imagined. No amount of description can paint the true picture of what motorists go through at peak hours at the Motorway Roundabout which has become a vital converging point for major roads leading into and out of Tema, our main port city, and Accra, the national capital.
More than 40 years ago when the Accra-Tema Motorway was under construction, there were some who protested that it was a frivolous expenditure on a misplaced priority. They felt the money for that road project could have been used in a more productive way.
However, the great architect of that project foresaw a future in which there would be a large volume of vehicular traffic between Accra and Tema, the industrial hub of the country. The Motorway was also not to carry traffic between Accra and Tema alone but beyond, towards the eastern corridor, which also means that it was to be a link between Ghana and its eastern neighbours of Togo, Benin and Nigeria.
Today, posterity is the best judge whether the investment was justified or not. Suffice it to say that the Motorway remains the most effective and reliable way of commuting between Accra and Tema and beyond.
What we have failed to do as a nation is expand the dreams of Nkrumah and improve upon what was constructed more than 40 years ago. The Accra-Motorway remains our national pride in road construction and even though it has long paid its due, we continue to enjoy collecting the tolls it generates, without devoting a fraction of those tolls for its maintenance.
With all its beauty and the aura around it, the Motorway is one of the most dangerous roads in the country. The reflective markings in the middle and edges which guide motorists have long faded and we are waiting, maybe, for the Chinese to come and help us mark the road. The craters especially on the outer lanes are so sharp that they can tear into pieces the best of tyres that fall into their open jaws.
At the time of the construction of the Motorway, all that expanse of land between Accra and the emerging industrial city of Tema was without human habitation. That was why those without foresight argued that the road was misplaced. Today, it divides human settlements with huge populations and consequently carries a large volume of traffic.
One would have thought that just as Nkrumah had the foresight to construct the Motorway, subsequent leaders would dream big and expand the Motorway from the present four-lane to a six- or even eight-lane dual carriage in response to current demands.
Typical of a mentality that does not create room for the future, we have allowed the Motorway in its present form for so long that today it has become more of a liability than an asset. While the surface has suffered a lot of wear and tear, its two ends have become a nightmare to motorists.
The Kufuor administration tried to open up the Accra-end of the Motorway with the construction of the Tetteh-Quarshie Interchange. Unfortunately, the final product could not meet today’s expectations. One of the greatest engineering blunders that could be foisted on a nation was a roundabout that has become a major obstacle to vehicular movement at the interchange. Very little consideration was given to the strategic nature of the interchange and its grand design in the total traffic distribution in the city.
Unlike the Motorway which was constructed with the philosophy: ‘Suffer today, enjoy tomorrow’, the Tetteh-Quarshie Interchange was designed and constructed with the philosophy: ‘Save money today, suffer tomorrow’. Yes, we are really suffering at Tetteh-Quarshie. Come to think of it — there is a huge shopping mall there which was built against good counsel.
The damage at Tetteh-Quarshie will require a lot of resources to rectify. But it must be done sooner than later if the objective of easing traffic and making driving a pleasant experience is to be met.
The challenge confronting users of the Motorway now is the obstacle at the roundabout at the Tema end. More than 40 years ago, Tema was a small place and all the settlements along the Tema-Ho-Akosombo and Tema-Aflao roads were non-existent or at best hamlets.
Today, gigantic towns have sprung up in all directions and with that the vehicle population has multiplied more than tenfold. That is why that roundabout has become a trap which saps the energy of motorists. Any country that cherishes productivity cannot afford to keep its workers trapped in traffic for hours through no fault of theirs.
The Accra-Tema Motorway story is a microcosm of a national situation. Accra’s roads have not developed to match the growth and expansion of human settlements. That is why all roads entering the city, whether from Takoradi-Cape Coast, Kumasi, Akosombo-Ho or Aflao-Lome are always choked. That is why leaving Accra on Fridays has become a punishment for every motorist.
Apart from the problem of inadequate roads, the few existing are poorly developed and hardly maintained. The result is that after a downpour and sometimes just a drizzle, almost all roads in the city become unmotorable. One can hardly drive for a kilometre on any major road in our capital without wading in mud, diving into ponds or crashing into potholes.
I do not want to believe that our leaders enjoy seeing us suffer. If that is the case, we want to see the removal of some roundabouts from the city. The Danquah Circle, the Obetsebi-Lamptey Circle, the great Kwame Nkrumah Circle, the Akuafo Circle at the 37 Military Hospital and the roundabout at the Tema-end of the motorway are all eyesores and hindrances to the movement of vehicles in the city and must be removed.
Sometimes I wonder what goes through the minds of our big people when they travel outside and they are driven on those smooth and expansive roads. Do they just recline in the back seat and enjoy the good ride or they dream of having similar roads in our beloved country?
Money should not always be the excuse for our failures. Something very serious is lacking in us. Maybe we lack the self-esteem, the confidence, the ability to dream big, the desire to translate dreams into reality or the leadership to champion our aspirations.
There are many challenges confronting this country and even if we find ourselves helpless, at least we can take time to ponder over them, instead of worrying about imaginary tape recordings and the hallucinations of modern-day Don Quixotes. Our national aspirations should go beyond the frivolous and the trivial.
Whatever way we look at it, we are stagnating unless we want to equate personal acquisitions with national development. The Accra-Tema Motorway is a clear example of how a people without vision could be overtaken by events.
fokofi@yahoo.co.uk
kofiakordor.blogpost.com