Mr. Kwasi Amoako-Atta, the Minister of Roads and Highways, promised that every effort would be made to prevent the Sogakope Bridge from being damaged by the Akosombo Dam spill.
Following reports of the extent of the destruction brought on by the spillage in the area, he inspected the bridge yesterday at Sogakope in the South Tongu District of the Volta Region and provided the assurance.
The danger point was located at 0.3 meters, or about two and a half feet, from the bottom of the bridge to the water at the time of the visit.
Additionally, weeds from upstream have entangled all 16 of the bridge’s piers, preventing the water from freely flowing into the sea as it should.
However, the minister stated that even though there was no need for concern, all precautions needed to be taken to stop the water from reaching the surface of the bridge’s bottom.
Mr. Amoako-Atta stated that the Ghana Navy and the Volta River Authority (VRA) have been collaborating with the South Tongu district assembly and National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO) for the past five days to use tug boats to remove weeds from the lake.
He said that the nation would do everything possible to preserve the priceless national asset and that it cannot afford to lose the over 600-meter bridge that is a crucial link in the ECOWAS Corridor.
“The bridge is still strong but the main concerns now would be if there would be more spillage as the safety of the dam is also paramount to the VRA,” Mr. Amoako-Atta added.
He claims that the nature of the bridge precludes the creation of detours because nothing would be taken for granted.
The minister announced that GH5 million in seed money has been set aside for the rehabilitation of the roads that are likely to be impacted by the spillage.
The spillage victims received assurances from Mr. Amoako-Atta that the government would do everything possible to assist them in overcoming their current difficulties.
He expressed his gratitude to the Inland Canoe Fishermen Association for its assistance during these trying times.
The Ghana Highway Authority’s Director of Bridges, Mr. Yakub Koray, who also assured that the bridge was stable, said that sand bags would be placed at the bridge’s highest level points over the course of the next two days to lessen any negative effects in the event of additional inflows.
