Drivers and Pedestrians who ply the Tema-Accra stretch of the Motorway are calling for a facelift.
According to them, it is no longer safe to use the motorway following the alarming rate of accidents.
The 19-kilometre Tema Motorway, which links Tema to Accra, was constructed as a highway and opened to traffic in November 1965 with the sole purpose of linking the Harbour City of Tema to Accra.
However, the close to 56-year-old highway has partly outlived its purpose, becoming a death trap. Several potholes on the motorway have been identified as the main cause of accidents on that stretch.
A drive on the motorway also revealed several spots being used as bus stops by commercial drivers. Mostly, these bus stops serve adjoining communities like Ashaiman, Adjei-Kojo, Community 18, and 19, Lashibi and TRASSACO valley among others.
Additionally, these drivers have also converted sections of the Motorway into lorry stations and pedestrians throw caution to the wind, crossing the Motorway indiscriminately at the peril of their lives.
In an interview, the Tema Metropolitan Commander of the Motor Traffic and Transport Department, Chief Superintendent William Kwame Asante said development has caught up with the Motorway and its high time the stretch was re-engineered and its classification as a motorway, re-looked.
Over the years, there have been several attempts to light up the motorway but city planners have failed to safeguard the lights as they are often stolen by miscreants. The current attempt to get the motorway lighted has been criticized as a wasteful venture.
