The major road leading to the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) and other private oil companies on the Valco-Kpone road in Tema remains deplorable despite several calls to fix the situation.

Names of some oil companies in the area include the Tema Tank Farm (TTF) and Quantum Oil among others.

Also, there are power generating companies including the Asogli Power Plant and the Kpone Thermal Power Station along that same lane.

The Volta Aluminium Company Limited (VALCO), second-largest smelter in Sub-Saharan Africa, a major long-term investment in Ghana, can also be named among the companies on the Valco-Kpone stretch.

Day in day out, thousands of litres of petroleum products are conveyed via this route so the situation, if not checked could affect productivity, leading to a reduction of the huge revenue government generates from these million-dollar companies.

Efforts by the Ghanaian Times to reach the Ghana Highways Authority proved futile.

According to drivers who ply the route daily, the stretch has been in that state for more than three decades now with both current and previous governments turning a blind eye to the death trap.

When the Ghanaian Times visited the area yesterday, it observed that some trucks had broken down along the road, while vehicles were carefully manoeuvring through the gaping potholes.

Some truck drivers who spoke to the paper bemoaned that plying the route was life-threatening, as huge containers fell on moving trailers almost every day, putting the lives of road users at risk.

Mr Adu Buahen, a driver for Ghana Oil Company, lamented that it was a shame for governments to be reluctant in fixing the road.

“I have been plying this route for more than two decades now and this is how it has always been. Our vehicles keep breaking down because of the bad nature of the road, containers keep falling off the trailers every now and then, the dust on the road too is a story for another day not to talk of the huge potholes on it.

We have even given up on calling for help because i have come to realise that the government just does not care this road. Looking at the multi-million dollar companies on this road alone, how do our leaders feel when they receive revenue from the companies and don’t fix the roads. It is indeed a big shame,” he said.

Another driver, Nicholas Boateng stated that due to the deplorable nature of the road, there was always traffic, which affected travel time on the stretch.

Under normal circumstance, moving from the Valco roundabout to the Tema Tank Famr for instance, he said should not take more than ten minutes but due to the bad state of the road it sometimes takes more than an hour.

“The only reason why there is intense traffic on this road is because of the potholes and we will appreciate it if government responds to our call,” he added.

Another driver, who pleaded anonymity feared that if the situation was not salvaged road users would soon block the road as a way of showing government how frustrated they had become.

He said in the event of a fuel tanker falling and exploding, the end result would be disastrous.

"These tankers and trailers fall on this road all the time, we are just praying there will not be any explosion, else we will all die," he lamented.

Commenting on the issue, the commercial manager of Tema Tank Farm, Mr Daniel Pepprah indicated that it was high time priority was given to the road especially when major revenue-generating companies were located in the area.

"Seeing trucks breaking down every day because of the state of this road is disheartening so I am pleading with authorities to solve this problem as a matter of urgency," he added.