PEDESTRIANS HAMPERING WORKS ON ADOMI BRIDGE (BACK PAGE)

ACTIVITIES of pedestrians along the Adomi Bridge are posing a serious challenge to the engineers of the Ghana Highway Authority (GHA) undertaking repair works on the bridge.
The pedestrians — comprising passengers, sellers and porters engaged in brisk business along the bridge — often stop to observe the repair works by the engineers, a situation that was said to be distracting attention.
Besides the weight they exert on the bridge, particularly at the cordoned depressed section, the pedestrians also cause the facility to frequently vibrate and swing, thus undermining smooth welding works being done by the engineers.
The Director of Bridges of the GHA, Mr Peter Dagadu, who expressed worry about the situation, said “there is no way our engineers can undertake effective continuous welding on the cracked steel beams when they are frequently being distracted by pedestrians”.
“Besides the danger they pose to their own safety and that of the bridge and the engineers, the tools and materials such as spanners, drilling machines and cables being used by the engineers are often stolen by pedestrians,” he stated.
Mr Dagadu, who was accompanied by some officials of the GHA, including the Director of Public Affairs, Mr Norbert Quarmor, was at the site to observe the repair works being done by the engineers of his outfit.
He advised pedestrians to desist from lingering on the bridge when work was going on, to ensure their safety and that of the engineers.
Mr Dagadu further appealed to motorists to co-operate, since the closure of the bridge could sometimes go beyond 12 noon each day and entreated them to abide by the safety measures instituted and desist from overloading and forcing their way through during the closure of the facility.
On the emergency repair works, which is the second occasion in the history of the bridge, Mr Dagadu said his outfit would plate all the damaged steel beams on all sides “after which we will conduct a thorough test on their strength and determine whether there are any more cracks on the steel beams”.
To ensure a good work done by the engineers of the GHA, he said his outfit had invited the original builders of the bridge, the Dorman Long, UK, to conduct further tests on the facility and give the appropriate advice.
To ensure the safety of the facility, he said permanent axle weighing devices would be installed at both ends of the bridge to regulate the weight of vehicles that plied it.