N1 highway to have 3 new footbridges

The government has disclosed plans to construct three new footbridges at Lapaz Junction, Akweteyman Junction and Awoshie along the George Walker Bush N1 Highway in Accra.

Answering questions on the floor of parliament on Friday, 2 November 2018, Roads and Highways Minister, Kwasi Amoako-Atta announced the interventions, which he believes will reduce car crashes and pedestrian knockdowns.

“We want to improve safety, we want to improve visibility,” he told legislators.

About 60% of road crashes on major national highways in Accra were recorded on the N1 highway, according to the first AMA Road Safety Report which analysed data from 2011 to 2015.

The report was put together by the Accra Metropolitan Assembly, in partnership with the Bloomberg Philanthropies Initiative for Global Road Safety (AMA-BIGRS).

Almost 90% of road fatalities in the observation period were pedestrians, motorcycle riders, and cyclists—the most vulnerable road users.

Pedestrians constituted about 70% of all fatalities, motorcyclists (drivers and passengers) about 14%, and cyclists about 2%.

Males accounted for approximately 80% and 70% of deaths and severe injuries, respectively.

The highest proportion of deaths and serious injuries in 2015 was among men between ages 25 to 39. Seventy-seven fatalities and 252 serious injuries occurred among males in this age group that year.