The Deputy Minister of Roads and Highways, Honourable Isaac Adjei Mensah has said his outfit in consultation with other major stakeholders will look into a possible temporal closure of the Kulungugu- Bawku Municipality Bridge and allow only minor vehicles to pile the bridge.
The Deputy Minister who was in the Municipality as part of his five days official visit to the Northern, Upper East and West Regions, added that the bridge which serves as a link between Ghana and Burkina Faso is in danger of collapse if heavy duty vehicles are allowed to continue to pass over it.
Some of the panels supporting the bridge have broken down allowing portions of it to sink while making entry and exit points for goods and from and to Burkina Faso a major concern for both Ghana and Burkina Faso.
The state of the bridge came to light when the Deputy Minister and some officials of the ministry visited the area to inspect roads and other facilities.
After touring and inspecting various parts of the road networks in the Upper East Region, Mr Adjei and his team later told the media in the Bawku Municipality that particular attention will be giving to the Kulungugu-Bawku’s bridge.
According to the deputy Minister, the best solution to avert a total collapse of the bridge would be to restrict the movement of heavy duty vehicles over it.
He stressed that the Ministry, for that matter Government considers the strategic location and the significance of the bridge to both Ghana and Burkina Faso, hence, the need to consult all stakeholders including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Burkina Faso Embassy and the customs division of the Ghana Revenue Authority before a decision on how to use the bridge without compromising safety.
The Deputy Minister of Roads and Highwyas later promised to send the report about the state of the bridge and all the roads visited to his sector minister, Alhaji Amidu Sulemani who would then initiate the necessary action to be taken Some of the roads the deputy Minister and his team inspected in the Region include the Gumbu-Zibila, Zibila-Kasugo and Nyariga-Sumbrugu roads.
They rest are the Bolgatanga Polytechnic campus drains, Sawaba road, and Nabdam-Bawku roads among others.
