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SSATP Road Safety Program

Abidjan-Lagos Corridor Pilot Project in

Workshop Report I

July 2012

Consia Skelbaekgade 4 DK-1717 Copenhagen V Denmark Tel: +45 72 18 38 00 Fax: +45 72 18 38 01 E-mail: [email protected] Web: www.consia.com

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Contents

1. Introduction ...... 3 2. The SSATP Road Safety Program ...... 3 3. The Abidjan-Lagos Corridor ...... 4 4. Workshop 31st May at NRSC ...... 5 5. Current Projects in the Corridor ...... 7 6. Accident Analysis ...... 10 7. Funding ...... 12 8. Way Forwards ...... 13

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1. Introduction The present document presents a status for the activities on the Abidjan- Lagos Corridor in Ghana in connection with the Sub-Saharan Africa Transport Policy Program’s (SSATP).

The part of the AL Corridor that passes through Ghana is in spite of various road safety projects in recent years still a frequent scene for serious road accidents. Therefore, at a workshop at the National Road Safety Commission the 31 st May, 2012, it was agreed that renewed action is highly justified. It was decided to establish a collaboration to improve road safety, starting with a pilot project aimed at improved road user behaviour. The project should also have a potential for replication in neighbouring countries on the AL Corridor. Therefore, a joint workshop with representatives from key agencies in other countries in the region is expected at a later stage, facilitated by SSATP.

A number of activities have been carried out successfully during and after the SSATP’s first mission to Ghana. The main stakeholders involved in the activities – first of all Ministry of Roads and Highways (MRH), National Road Safety Commission (NRSC), Motor Traffic and Transport Unit (MTTU), Ghana Highways Authority (GHA), Total Ghana Ltd, and SSATP – has provided overview over known accident problems, on-going road safety projects, and potential means of funding for a future enforcement and information pilot project.

The present report briefly presents this information, as well as the background for the SSATP’s initiative in the AL Corridor, and the suggested way forwards.

A meeting with all stakeholders planned for July 16, 2012 has been moved to August 6, 2012 at 2 pm at the NRSC. The present note forms the basis for the meeting.

2. The SSATP Road Safety Program The SSATP has on request from its member countries initiated a Road Safety Program to address the growing road accident problem in Sub-Saharan Africa. Phase 1 started in March and lasts till the end of November, 2012.

The Program is also supporting the UN Decade of Action for Road Safety and the newly revised Africa Road Safety Policy Framework and Action Plan.

The Road Safety Program will facilitate the following objectives:

1. Establishment of road safety lead agencies in countries where none exists. 3

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2. Preparation of country specific road safety action plans where none exists. 3. Implementation of high-impact road safety policy interventions. 4. Interventions to improve road safety in a selected transit corridor .

The activities in the Abidjan – Lagos Corridor through Ghana falls under (4) while Ghana already has a lead agency (1), and action plan (2), and is implementing high-impact interventions to the extent possible (3).

It is the hope that Ghana will be able to demonstrate how high-impact road safety improvements can be implemented in the corridor, or part of it, and exchange the experience with other countries in the region.

The SSATP Road Safety Programs activities in the AL Corridor should be seen in context with other on-going activities in the corridor related to road safety, most importantly the Abidjan-Lagos Trade and Transport Facilitation Project (ALTTFP). The two programs support each other directly.

3. The Abidjan-Lagos Corridor The Abidjan-Lagos Corridor (AL Corridor) stretches over 1000 km along the coast from Abidjan to Lagos. The Ghanaian part of the corridor is approximately 525 km, stretching from Elubo on the border to Côte d’Ivoire to Aflao on the border to Togo.

The coastal Abidjan – Lagos Corridor

The road is generally in good and fair condition due to substantial investment by various bilateral and multilateral donors. However, this is not in any way indicative for the safety level on the corridor while good roads often foster high speeds, which can increase both the number of accidents and the severity of accidents.

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Ghana has applied the Global Road Safety Facility (GRSF) for inclusion in the International Road Assessment Programme (iRAP), which makes safety assessments of existing roads and provide support for improvements. However, the application has not yet resulted in a positive response.

4. Workshop 31st May at NRSC A workshop was held the 31 st May 2012 to discuss the opportunities for activities on the corridor in Ghana. The workshop was kindly hosted by the NRSC and was joined by MRH, NRSC, MTTU and Total Ghana Ltd.

The background for the SSATP Road Safety Program was presented as well as the purpose of the workshop: To agree on a possible pilot project in the Ghanaian part of the AL Corridor, aiming at demonstrating solutions that could be of value and interest for other countries in the corridor.

There was initially a slight confusion why the attention should be turned to a specific road since all key-agencies already has agreed action plans with set objectives, also considering that the SSATP is not bringing any substantial resources for activities in the corridor. It was agreed, though, that road safety is an issue on the road. There are problems in the local communities the road passes through and there are also general problems with over-speeding. Besides, it forms part of an international corridor.

Some of the most important findings were the following:

Ministry of Roads and Highways (MHR) Godwin Brocke, Director of Policy & Planning, SSATP National Coordinator George Debrah

MRH recommends that all activities are data-led and coordinated with other projects in the corridor. MRH suggested that the new regulations, which are expected to come into force soon, can be rolled out as part of a pilot project since the revised regulation contains several improvements on road safety that could be of interest for other countries in the region. MRH will continue to participate in the development and supervision of relevant activities in the corridor and coordination with neighbouring countries.

Motor Traffic and Transport Unit (MTTU) DSP Samuel Sasu-Mensah, Operations Officer

The most recent finalised road rehabilitation project on the corridor, the N1 financed by the Millennium Challenge Account, demonstrated how the upgrading of an existing road can cause serious accidents due to higher speeds, even though safety measures were integrated in the design. This is a problem MTTU has seen before on other projects. Also, drunk driving and general lack of respect for rules and regulations are evident in the corridor, as well as on other sections. The MTTU will be able to contribute with 5

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Ghana Highways Authority, Road Safety and Environment Division (GHA) Joe-Fred Peseo, Director of Road Safety and Environment Division

Safety audits are carried out on all new projects but the resulting recommendations are often neglected. GHA is concurrently implementing the recommended changes from previous year’s audits.

Total Petroleum Ghana Limited Guillaume Larroque, Managing Director Richard Debrah, HSEQ Manager

Total already enforces high standards for the sub-contractors drivers and vehicle fleet. Total offers to contribute to road safety activities in the corridor with funding for certain information and education activities. If relevant, Total can also contribute with experience on fleet and driver management. Funding for signs and safe crossing points in local communities could also be supported. As a private company, however, Total Ghana Ltd does not wish to be part of any policy level discussions.

National Road Safety Commission (NRSC) Noble Appiah, Executive Director May Obiri Yeboah, Dir. of Planning David Adonteng, Dir. of Research, Monitoring and Evaluation

NRSC has a well-established network of road safety professionals in the regions and is also managing national road accident data. The NRSC will therefore be able to play a coordinating role in a future pilot project although all available resources are allocated to scheduled activities.

In conclusion, there was general support to identify possible road safety activities that could be implemented in the short term. Also, there was support to communicate with neighbouring countries in the corridor, for instance by holding a workshop at a later stage, e.g. arranged with the assistance of ALCO.

It was agreed that:

1) Available accident data should be gathered to obtain overview over the accident situation on the road in order to make the activities data- led. A brief summary should be included in the present document. Responsible: NRSC, GHA and SSATP. 2) An overview over on-going, recent and coming road rehabilitation and road safety related projects on the AL Corridor should be provided and a brief summary included in the present document. Responsible: GHA, MRH and SSATP. 6

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3) A second workshop will be held on Monday 16 th July 2012 at the NRSC. Based on presentations of the accident analysis and the overview over on-going projects, the group will identify gaps that can be addressed to avoid overlap with other projects. An updated version of the present document will be forwarded to the participants in advance. The result will be an action plan with clearly defined activities and performance objectives, formulated to suit the available resources and relevant time frame. Responsible for preparations: SSATP. Responsible for outcome: MRH, NRSC, GHA, MTTU, Total.

5. Current Projects in the Corridor

The below information is collected by SSATP with assistance from MRH, NRSC and GHA, which kindly submitted the contributions in Annex 9 and 10.

See Annex 9: MRH Project Status See Annext 10: GHA Description of RS Measures on AL Corridor

The Abidjan-Lagos Trade and Transport Facilitation Project (ALTTFP) The purpose of the ALTTFP is to reduce obstacles to trade and transport at the ports and on the roads along the Abidjan-Lagos corridor in Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, Benin and Nigeria. The project is financed by the World Bank and supported by ECOWAS.

The project started in August, 2010 and lasts till 2016. It is subdivided into Phase 1, which concerns Ghana, Togo and Benin, and Phase 2 which concerns Côte d’Ivoire.

There are no ALTTFP investments in Nigeria although it is also regarded a part of the corridor. However, WB is providing 10 million USD for road safety purposes for Nigeria as part of the Federal Road Development Project.

The total ALTTFP budget is around 400 million USD. Over 80% of the investment is financing road and bridge rehabilitation along the corridor, while the rest is mostly "soft" support to trade facilitation reforms such as ports single window, customs reforms, support to joint border posts, and some institutional strengthening.

The ALTTFP comprises four components:

(i) Component A: Trade facilitation (ii) Component B: Improvement of road infrastructure along the corridor (iii) Component C: Project management and coordination, and

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(iv) Component D: HIV /AIDS programs and corridor performance monitoring.

The first three components are executed by the Project Coordination Units (PCU).

The ALTTFP is not focused on road safety but there is road safety measures embedded in the civil works contracts, including treatment of hazardous spots, roadside transit stops for busses, signs and markings, etc.

Component D is managed by the Abidjan-Lagos Corridor Organization (ALCO), which is based in Benin. ALCO has developed and ensured that the involved countries validate a data collection methodology on the project performance indicators. The data collection system is based on the routine collection carried out by focal points recruited within the partner authorities of the project (customs, ports, public works department, NACP) and the periodic surveys.

The section undergoing reconstruction in Ghana is 110 km long and stretches from Agona Junction to Elubo on the border to Côte d’Ivoire.

MRH and GHA have provided information about the road safety measures, safety audits and other relevant road safety interventions integrated in the project ( see appendix 1 ).

AfDB funded rehabilitation project between Aflao and Akatsi AfDB is funding the construction of around 40 km highway between Aflao (the border to Togo) and Akatsi. The works are done as two separate contract packages, separated at Agbozume between Aflao and Akatsi. The section between Akatsi and Agbozume is nearing completion, the remaining part still on-going. Safety measures incorporated in the project includes:

• Road line markings • Traffic signs • Pedestrian crossings • Traffic calming measures • Crash Barriers • Traffic signals.

George Walker Bush Motorway (N1) In the first part of 2012 the Millennium Challenge Corporation completed a 217 million USD investment in the upgrading of a 14 km section of the N1 highway through Accra, from ordinary 2 lane road to 6 lane motorway. The project included:

• 2 Grade Separation Interchanges at the Dimples and Mallam Junctions • 23 Minor Junctions

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• 2 Transport Terminals at Kokroko, near Mallam and at Abeka Lapaz. • 13 Bus Bays • 6 Footbridges • Bicycle Lanes

In spite of the grade separation and foot bridges, several fatal road accidents occurred during the first week after the road was opened to traffic. This was mainly as a result of conflicts between high speeds and pedestrians crossing the road at the same level.

Road safety audit was carried out as a prerequisite but recommendations of the audit were not fully implemented. This seems to be a result of time constraints and inadequate funding for full implementation of the road safety audit recommendations. For example, the audit recommended for the provision of footbridges with ramps to cater for the needs of all pedestrians and the provision of effective fencing in addition to the proposed guardrails along the entire media divider to prevent pedestrians from crossing the road. These features, however, were not implemented.

A Stage 4 Audit (before/around opening) was completed and most of the issues and concerns raised in the Stage 3 Audit have reoccurred. In such circumstances, it becomes more expensive to implement the recommendations in the stage 4 audit and funding becomes a challenge.

In order to prevent similar occurrences on future rehabilitation projects, road safety audit should continue to be a prerequisite for procurement and implementation of projects. In addition, a written response with decisions for each audit comment should be prepared by the design team, discussed with and approved by the Client, and sent back to the auditor. This will highly facilitate an informed, transparent decision-making process, which makes it clear what decisions are taken, and why. In addition, budgetary issues should be addressed at this stage to incorporate the recommendations to the degree possible.

Mallam-Kasua-Takoradi Road GHA has previously prepared stage 5 safety audit reports for part of the western stretches of the corridor, first of all at the Mallam-Kasua-Takoradi junction and Agona Junction. Reconstruction projects for these two junctions will be carried out in 2012 with support from the Danish International Development Agency (Danida).

Based on the 2008 – 2010 crash data analyses, the GHA has also programmed the following other safety interventions on this part of the corridor:

• Traffic calming measures with proven impact on over-speeding • Road studs at zebra crossings and in sharp curves to improve night visibility • Provision of chevron and zebra markings to improve night visibility • Junction improvements

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• Provision of crash barriers at steep slopes

These works are at the procurement stage.

6. Accident Analysis

Existing Accident Statistics for 2008-10 The NRSC informed that the Building and Road Research Institute (BRRI) is in the possession of a list of accident black-spots from 2010. Also, the Australian consultancy company Snowy Mountain Engineering Corporation (SMEC) was commissioned to carry out an accident study on the road a few years ago, based on data collected by BRRI, financed by the NRSC. BRRI has been contacted but the response is still pending.

Instead, GHA has kindly provided existing data for the 20 most accident- prone sections in three of the four regions the corridor traverses in Ghana, based on data for the 3-year period 2008-10 (Western, Central, Greater Accra Region).

See annex 11: GHA Accident Data for 3x20 Spots in Western, Central, GA Region.

Also, a distribution on collision types has been done for some of the spots (with some minor discrepancies between the numbers of accidents).

See annex 12: GHA Accident Data Western Region 14 spots See annex 13: GHA Accident Data Central Region 15 spots See annex 14: GHA Accident Data for GA Region 11 spots

The statistics are presented per kilometre for the most accident-prone sections of the corridor and does therefore not provide a full overview of all accidents. A general description of accident types and contributory factors can therefore not yet be made but the statistics still give clear indications of the most common types of accidents.

An excerpt with the three highest ranking kilometres on the road section through Central Region is shown below. The above table shows that for the three most accident-prone spots in Central Region, collisions with pedestrians account for half of the accidents. Pedestrians most likely account for more than 50 % of the fatalities and injuries since collisions between vehicles and pedestrians typically result in severe injuries. This underscores the need for traffic calming measures and better facilities for vulnerable road users, which are often given a low priority in road infrastructure projects.

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The three highest ranking accident spots on the road through Central Region based on Annex 11.

Please notice that the above ranking is done according to the total number of accidents. The severity of accidents can also be taken into consideration since fatal and serious injury accidents are more important to avoid than damage- only accidents.

ALTTFP Road Safety Study on the AL Corridor The ALTTFP in cooperation with Ministry of Roads and Highways are launching a comprehensive road safety study along the corridor, including all five countries.

The Terms of Reference includes the following Scope of Work (in brief):

• Provide an assessment of the entire Abidjan-Accra-Lome-Cotonou- Lagos road corridor with respect to accidents and accident factors, for specific locations as well as for the corridor in general • Outline accident mitigation measures • Assess the capacity to collect and analyse accident data and use the results to design remedial measures in each of the five countries • Prepare an action plan for road safety on the corridor in the five countries • Prepare guidelines for the improvement of road user behaviour on the corridor • Assess the capacity to undertake enforcement activities that can reduce road accidents in each of the five countries • List and rank the 50 worst accident spots on the corridor in each of the five countries • Prepare detailed design for worst 10 accident spots on the corridor in each of the five countries • Prepare detailed design for 8 rest stops on the corridor in Ghana.

The tender is on-going and the selection of a consultant is expected soon.

See Annex 15: ToR for ALTTFP Road Safety Study.

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The study will provide overview over contributing accident factors that can be addressed by engineering measures and police enforcement. The output will be most elaborate for engineering measures since 250 specific locations will be identified and detailed design prepared for 50, whereas the recommendations for police enforcement may be more overall guidelines that need to be followed up by subsequent initiatives. Here, the SSATP could possibly facilitate.

Once completed, the ALTTFP road safety study can provide a sound and updated basis for the present project. It is therefore worthwhile to wait for the results to ensure full coordination between the two projects and avoid duplicate work.

Expectedly, the results could be ready around New Year 2012-13.

7. Funding

The NRSC and MTTU will be the main implementing agencies for a combined information and enforcement campaign. However, both agencies have fully allocated the available funds for 2012 and cannot add further activities without extra funds.

The following sources have been considered:

Contribution from WB credits A request from WB’s clients in Ghana (MRH/GHA) to include road safety enforcement and information campaign activities in the work plan for 2013 can be prepared. An amount of approximately 40,000 USD is envisaged, which together with Total’s contribution will be sufficient to implement a pilot project on part of the corridor, tailored to the amount available.

Contribution from Total Ghana Ltd The contributions from Total will be for campaign and information related materials, such as road side poster, folders, banners etc. and maybe lighter infrastructure items. The amounts are yet to be discussed but may be in the range of 15,000 – 25,000 USD.

Contribution from NRSC/MTTU The NRSC may be able to mobilize additional funds needed through Ghana Road Fund or other sources. However, the main contribution from the NRSC and MTTU will first of all be the experience, manpower and logistics, which with sufficient funding can be used for planning and operations. It is expected that the NRSC will be able to implement the needed information activities through the Regional Road Safety Committees and other local organisations.

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8. Way Forwards

The following decisions on the way forwards will be commented and decided on at the meeting on August 6, 2012:

1. The SSATP and Ghanaian stakeholders should await the results of the ALTTFP road safety study since the study will produce the needed information about current accident problems. 2. Likewise, it is suggested to postpone the planned joint country workshop in Benin in October, organised by ALCO, till the results can be presented and discussed. 3. After the ALTTFP study results have been properly communicated and adopted in each country, a need for improved road user behaviour is foreseen in some or all of the countries on the corridor. A pilot project with police enforcement and a road user information campaign will be prepared in Ghana as a first initiative and catalyst, which can be promoted and replicated, or run simultaneously, in other AL Corridor countries. While some countries will need support to do this, Nigeria is expected to be able to take immediate action too without further support. 4. The opportunities for a pilot project in Nigeria will be further explored by SSATP during a mission to Nigeria the 8-15 th August, 2012. 5. The SSATP will encourage the lead road safety agencies and their allies in Ivory Coast, Togo, Benin and Nigeria to prepare similar reports as the present. The reports will be gathered by SSATP and used for the continued planning of road safety initiatives on the corridor. 6. The MRH, GHA, NRSC, MTTU and Total are encouraged to consider how the pilot project can be designed, organized and funded, and how possible funding from applications to WB credits, Road Fund or other sources can be prepared, if needed.

The above list of points for decision may not be exhaustive. Other subjects of importance and interest may be raised at the meeting.

27.07.12/Per Mathiasen, SSATP Road Safety Program

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