Motorists using the main Ashaley Botwe-School Junction road that links the densely populated suburb to the rest of the city have expressed worry over what they described as ‘killer potholes’ which have developed along the entire stretch.
The deep holes, which start from the 3rd Gate Junction, go all the way to the Ashaley Botwe School Junction – making the road unmotorable on a daily basis and deadly whenever there is rainfall.
Last week Tuesday’s downpour in the capital exposed huge potholes on the road; a situation that has increased commuting time and the frequency with which motorists living in and around Ashaley Botwe visit their mechanics for maintenance.
A journey from Ritz Junction – which is on the main Adenta-Madina Road – to Ashaley Botwe School Junction should ordinarily take a maximum of five minutes. But due to the bad nature of the road, it now takes up to 20 minutes.
Ashaley Botwe falls under the administration of the Adentan Municipal Assembly. Along with Ogbojo, Sraha, Little Roses, Japan Motors-Lake side, Third Gate, Arap Adjei, and Part Dzen Ayor, Ashaley Botwe falls within the Nii Ashale Zonal Council—one of the four Zonal Councils in the municipality.
Harry Gyimah, a KIA truck driver who has been plying the road for over two years, told B&FT that the road used to be in a better shape but started deteriorating about a year ago due to lack of maintenance.
“First, it wasn’t like this,” he said, “but about a year and half ago it started developing potholes, particularly at the Newtown Junction.
“Anytime it rains there is always flooding, and when it happens like that it could take you up to 10 minutes to drive a thousand-metre distance. So, it is not good for our cars because it damages them so often. It also causes traffic-jams, too. Too much traffic, especially in the morning and evening.”
According to him, drivers who ply the road, particularly cargo cars, visit the mechanic every week, or sometimes twice, due to the road’s poor state.
“The money that we get as profit is the same money we use to maintain the car, so you realise that at the end of the day all your profit is going into vehicle maintenance.
“We want the local assembly and government to do the road for us, because this is the main road in Botwe here,” he appealed.
