AXLE LOAD DEVICES INTRODUCED AT ADOMI BRIDGE (BACK PAGE)

Engineers of the Ghana Highway Authority (GHA) have introduced heavy axle load weighing devices at both ends of the Adomi Bridge to check the weight of vehicles as part of safety measures to reduce the pressure on the bridge.
There was heavy traffic jam on either side of the bridge last Saturday when the GHA partially closed it down for repair works to begin.
Vehicles weighing more than 20 tonnes were not allowed to drive over the bridge.
Consequently, passengers, including children, the aged and tourists, on board all commercial vehicles that were over the stipulated weight were compelled to alight and walk across the 808 feet bridge to the other side to board the vehicles.
Some of them who spoke to the Daily Graphic said although the closure of the facility would cause them some inconvenience, they supported the measures since, “after all, it is our safety that is at stake”.
The closure of the 52-year-old bridge which links the south-eastern part of the country to the Volta and northern regions is to enable the engineers of the GHA to repair the deep cracks on the steel beams supporting the bridge.
The Deputy Chief Executive in charge of Administration at the GHA, Mr Martin Mensah, who announced this during an inspection tour of the bridge, said the closure would last for three weeks, during which vehicular traffic would not be allowed from 9.00 a.m. to 12 noon each day until August 2.
He also indicated that vehicles which weighed more than 20 tonnes would not be allowed to cross the bridge as part of the measures to reduce pressure on it.
Mr Mensah, who was accompanied by some engineers of the GHA and the Special Assistant to the Minister of Transportation, Mr Ken Anku, said the continued use of the bridge in its present state, particularly by heavy duty trucks, could lead to its collapse “at any time”.
“There is no way we can ensure the safety of the Adomi Bridge if we allow it to be used by heavy duty vehicles. Until we prevent such a situation, the depression that has developed on a section of the bridge as a result of a broken steel beam will continue to worsen,” Mr Mensah added.
According to him, an assessment conducted by engineers of the GHA revealed that the use of the bridge by vehicles that weighed more than 20 tonnes could compromise its safety and that of commuters.
To reduce the inconvenience that commuters and motorists would go through during the three-hour period each day, Mr Mensah mentioned other alternative routes that could be used as the Juapong-Volo-Adidome-Sogakope road and the Juapong-Ho-Denu road.
According to the deputy chief executive, as a short-term solution, the steel beam that had broken would be welded, while other parts that had weakened as a result of fatigue would be given the due attention, adding that in the long-term fatigued steel beams would be replaced.