Passengers, private cars stranded, as GPRTU drivers repair Sunyani-Atronie-Ntotroso highway

Passengers and private vehicles were stranded in the early hours of Monday, as commercial drivers undertook some maintenance works on portions of the Sunyani-Atronie-Ntotroso highway in the Bono and Ahafo Regions.According to the drivers of the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) who plied that highway, they undertook the decision to repair and reshape the road to control crashes, and damages caused to their vehicles.The Ghana News Agency (GNA) gathered portions of the road that linked Atronie and Sunyani were blocked, as the drivers deposited quantities of sand meant for the repairs in the middle of the stretch.That has resulted in heavy vehicular traffic, as vehicles coming from opposite directions could not move, as the drivers' filled potholes developed on the highway.'The potholes are too many, and that is obstructing and makes driving difficult here. We, however, realised that if we do not do anything by ourselves, and put the road in good shape nobody is going to do that for us,' one of the drivers, only known as Anthony, told the GNA.Mr Justice Kwame Frimpong, the Bono Regional Vice Chair of the GPRTU told the GNA in an interview that the drivers notified the Union, and asked passengers and other users of the road to cope with them.He said it was untrue that the drivers had laid down their tools and undertook a protest over the condition of the road, as being speculated in the media, and added rather 'they are just doing some maintenance work to make the stretch more motorable'.Meanwhile, the chiefs and elders of Atronie, a farming community in the Sunyani Municipality have refuted reports that they have blocked the Sunyani-Atronie portion of the stretch due to the deplorable condition of the road.A statement issued and signed by Nana Ampofo, the Secretary to the Atronie Traditional Authority said 'Nananom (chiefs) are not involved in the blockage of the road'.'The action was taken by the GPRTU drivers in Sunyani and Kenyase,' the statement copied to the GNA indicated and cautione d the media to be circumspect in their reportage and fact-check their information.As of filing this report, the GNA learnt that the Chiefs and Elders of Atronie, a farming community in the Sunyani Municipality were holding discussions with the drivers on how to open the road for motorists.Checks by the GNA revealed that former President John Agyekum Kufuor inaugurated the highway, constructed by J Adom Limited, a Sunyani-based construction firm in in December 2007.Since then, no major rehabilitation work has been done on the stretch, though one of the busiest roads, which links Bono, Ahafo and parts of the Western North Regions.Source: Ghana News Agency