Residents of Adubinso and Edwenase cry over collapsed bridge

A collapsed bridge at Adubinso has cut off several farming communities in the Afigya Kwabre Dstrict of the Ashanti Region, leaving a deathtrap for the residents who have threatened not to vote if the bridge is not immediately fixed.

The bridge that links Adubinso to Edwenase, Maase, and Atimatim among other farming communities has not only become a deathtrap to users but also likely to cause a major disaster.

Residents say the concrete bridge detached from the road two months ago, forcing them to temporarily use wooden slabs to link the bridge to both sides of the road through a communal interventional.

Vehicles travelling from Aduman through to Edwenase now have to stop at the collapsed bridge for passengers to cross on foot to join another vehicle on the other side of the road to continue their journey.

The situation, residents say, has forced commercial vehicles from plying the road; something that is affecting farmers in the area who now are compelled to carry their farm produce on their heads and walk kilometres to market centres at Edwenase.

Access to healthcare is also impeded by the collapse of the bridge, especially in emergency case.

“Just last week, a young boy died because we delayed on our way to take him to the hospital for medical treatment.

We had no choice than to trek several miles to the hospital with the boy on our shoulders because there was no car when we got to the bridge”, said Kofi Asare, a resident.

Another resident, Collins Adu, added:” We have appealed several times to the district assembly to reconstruct the bridge for us but we are yet to hear any positive response”.

The Adubinso residents have thus threatened not to participate in this year’s general elections if authorities do not fix the bridge. Meanwhile, the district chief executive for Afigya Kwabre, Kaakyire Oppong Kyekyeku, has told TV3 the bridge has been awarded on a contract but could not tell when work will commence “My checks from the Ministry of Roads and Highways revealed that, the bridge has already been awarded to contract and the contractor will soon move to site to start work,” he said.

“I cannot be able to tell the exact date the contractor will commence work but the assurance is that the bridge will be fixed before the end of 2016,” he assured the residents. But the assembly member for Adubinso, Thomas Owusu Ansah, said told TV3 the community is sitting on time bomb if the contractor does not get on site early.

Until work starts on the bridge, residents including school children would have to continue using this collapsed bridge at their own risk.