Rehabilitation works on the Kaneshie Footbridge have begun to correct certain defects on it.
Among others, the GH¢500,000 rehabilitation project will correct loose bolts underneath the bridge and replace worn-out metals, which have made the bridge unsafe for use, as well as the faulty handrails which were last replaced in 2009.
A senior engineer of the Bridges Maintenance Unit of the Ghana Highways Authority (GHA), Mr Nicholas Nortey Owuo, who is supervising the project, said the bridge would not be closed down completely.
During a visit by the Daily Graphic to the site yesterday, he said it had become necessary to replace the stairway, considering how worn out it was and the threat it posed to pedestrians due to the exposed metal rods underneath it. Work done
While the left section of the bridge was opened to pedestrians, the right section which was being worked on was closed.
Mr Owuo said about 40 per cent of the work had been done because most of the parts had already been fabricated and all that would be done was for the already fabricated parts to be brought to the site to replace the worn-out ones.
He said on reaching the walkway, most of the works would be done during the night to prevent congestion during the day.
Mr Owuo disclosed that at the end of the rehabilitation works, the bridge would be given a coat of aluminium oxide which would prevent the metals from rusting. Pedestrian’s reaction
Mr Emmanuel Adjei who uses the footbridge daily, told the Daily Graphic that the rehabilitation was long overdue and added that whenever he used it, he felt the structure shaking beneath him.
He said the ongoing rehabilitation works had allayed his fears of the bridge collapsing one day.
Mr Adjei, who lauded the GHA for its intervention, asked the authority to draw up a regular maintenance schedule for the bridge after it had been worked on.
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