Engineer says ‘Tamale Interchange’ does not offer the opportunity to switch roads

Bridges that we only drive on are called flyovers – Engineer

Tamale Interchange is the 1st interchange in the northern party of Ghana – Akufo-Addo

Civil Engineer, Abdular Mahama, has clarified that the edifice recently inaugurated by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in the Northern Regional capital, Tamale, is a flyover.

According to the engineer, for the road infrastructure (bridge) in Tamale to be an interchange, it must offer the opportunity for road users to switch roads.

Mahama, who made these remarks in a Neat FM interview monitored by GhanaWeb, explained that the infrastructure in Tamale is a flyover because road users can only drive on top of it.

“We [have] three types (of such infrastructures), we have one called an underpass, like the one on the Nsawam-Kotaah Road, it is called an underpass for people passing under it and the same bridge is called an overpass (flyover) by people passing on top of it.

“The Ako-Adjei interchange is a three-tier interchange because the road that you can interchange into the other lane is an interchange. You are interchanging from one place to the other, and the design of the road has given you all that luxury of turning down. The Pokuase interchange is a four-tier interchange which the government must be commended for because it is the first in West Africa and the second in Africa,” he said in Twi.

“… so, if you look at the Tamale Interchange, it is a flyover, others will say it is an interchange, but for us (engineers), it is a flyover. But the fact is that it has been done to eliminate or to reduce the traffic congestion at the location,” he added.

Meanwhile, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has said that the Tamale Interchange is the first interchange in the northern part of Ghana.

The president, who celebrated his birthday on Tuesday, said that he considers the opening of the Tamale Interchange a very satisfying birthday present.

“Let me mention that yesterday, it was my honour and great pleasure to have commissioned the Tamale Interchange, the first such interchange in the northern sector of our country, which the people of Tamale celebrated. I considered it to be a most satisfying birthday present. We intend to continue with the building of roads around the country to accelerate the opening up of our country,” he said at the 2022 State of the Nation Address.

Watch the comments the president made below: