The President, Nana Akufo-Addo, has inaugurated the Accra Management Centre to address the perennial traffic congestion in the capital, Accra.
The computerised centre, which connects with cameras and detectors on traffic lights and roads as well as with interconnective adaptive controllers, will coordinate traffic light systems to deal with traffic congestion.
The centre, known as the Accra Area-Wide Traffic Signal Control System, is the first of its kind in West Africa and will ensure a much smarter way of dealing with congestion in the capital.
Addressing the launch of the facility at the Department of Urban Roads on Friday, the President said the upsurge of vehicular traffic, coupled with rapidly increasing urban population, was putting a lot of pressure on road infrastructure, and also sapping productivity.
He disclosed that 41 traffic lights had been upgraded between the Neoplan Assembly Plant at Achimota to the Central Business District of Accra.
The upgrade includes the changing of traffic controllers from “isolated intersection controllers”, which could not communicate with each other, to “interconnected adaptive controllers,” the president added.
The system would allow the controllers to communicate with each other along the corridor, the use of detectors buried on the road and information sent in real time to the traffic management centre, he said.
This, he said, would allow the engineers to observe directly traffic flow patterns along the corridor and address any incident on the road that would cause traffic.
The Accra Traffic Management Centre represents Phase 1 of a broader programme to improve mobility, and reduce congestion in the nation’s capital.
“Under Phase 2, we shall see the upgrade of the remainder of the two hundred and seven (207) signalized intersections in Accra, from the current isolated intersections to co-ordinated ones. This will include the provision of new traffic controllers, and installation of detectors at intersection points, to collect vital traffic data needed for the improvement of traffic flow throughout the national capital,” President Akufo-Addo added.
In a statement, the Minister for Roads and Highways, Mr Kwasi Amoako-Atta, said the vehicular traffic flow in Accra was putting pressure on our roads.
According to him, special cameras have been installed to catch drivers who jump traffic light, warning that offenders will find and revenue used to run and maintain the centre.
He also disclosed that the project was subjected to international competitive bidding and the major component of the project involved Ghanaian participation.
He further said over 20 Ayalolo buses operating on the Amasaman road had been affixed to elements that would send signals to the control room to ensure that they were not delayed in traffic.
