2.3 Ghana Road Network

Distance Matrix Road Security Weighbridges and Axle Load Limits Road Class and Surface Conditions

Page 1 Page 2 The road network in Ghana can be considered good, especially trunk roads which link main cities, towns and villages. Road transport is already significant to Ghana’s economy as it is the most widely available form of transport in the country. It links agricultural production areas with local, regional and national markets and it carries in excess of 97% of all passenger and freight traffic in Ghana. The 209 km Oti Damanko-Nakpanduri Road, expected to be completed by October, 2016, is being jointly financed by the Brazilian Government and the Government of Ghana, with an amount of $240 million and $50 million respectively, bringing the total contract sum to $290 million. The project, when completed, will enhance economic activities between the Volta and Northern regions, improve the standard of living of the people and contribute to government’s efforts at bringing development to the northern sector of the country. Rehabilitation and capacity increasing works of the 15 km long Awoshie to Pokuase road axis will include construction of 2-2 and 2-3 lanes. The Walewale-Gambaga, -Gushiegu and the eastern corridor are among road projects under construction in the Northern Region.

For information on Ghana Road Network contact details, please see the following link: 4.1 Ghana Government Contact List

Distance Matrix

Distances from Capital City to Major Towns (km)

Accra Bolgatanga Ho Takoradi Wa

815 145 156 85 272 403 229 721

815 765 567 742 543 588 823 275 Bolgatanga

145 765 317 216 272 353 84 710 Cape Coast

156 567 317 135 336 515 388 720 Ho

85 742 216 135 200 330 283 688 Koforidua

272 543 272 336 200 130 305 444 Kumasi

403 588 353 515 330 130 436 375 Sunyani

229 823 84 388 283 305 436 752 Takoradi

721 275 710 720 688 444 375 752 Wa

Travel Time from Capital City to Major Towns (hours)

Accra Bolgatanga Cape Coast Ho Koforidua Kumasi Sunyani Takoradi Wa

10 2 2 1 4 5 3 9 Accra

10 10 7 9 7 7 10 4 Bolgatanga

2 10 4 3 4 5 1 9 Cape Coast

2 7 4 2 4 7 5 9 Ho

1 9 3 2 3 4 4 9 Koforidua

4 7 4 4 3 2 4 6 Kumasi

5 7 5 7 4 2 6 5 Sunyani

3 10 1 5 4 4 6 10 Takoradi

9 4 9 9 9 6 5 10 Wa

Road Security

The National Road Safety Commission, promulgated by an Act of Parliament NRSC Act 567 of 1999, is mandated to provide strategic leadership for developing and implementing interventions and counter measures towards a sustainable management of road safety in Ghana. Ghana has been ranked first among 23 countries in Africa by the Economic Commission of Africa (ECA) for implementing most road safety action plans developed within the framework of the United Nations Decade of Action for Road Safety (Decade) initiative. Since 2011, Ghana’s fatality rate (deaths per 10,000 vehicles) continue to post declining levels from 17.94 in 2011 to 14.62 in 2012 and 11.11 in 2013. In April 2012, Ghana was the only African country invited by the United Nations to share its road safety management approach considered as a model in Africa and developing economies by the United Nations.

Weighbridges and Axle Load Limits

Page 3 Axle load control and management is a critical issue for all the countries in the sub-region since excessive loading of trucks is one of the causes of early deterioration of the roads. The Supplementary Act Act/SP.17/02/12 relating to the Harmonisation of Standards and Procedures for the Control of Dimensions, Weigh and Axle Load of Goods Vehicle within Member States of the Economic Community of West African States was approved by the HoSG in Abuja 16-17 February 2012. Ghana commenced its program in earnest in June 2009 as part of an agreement with WAEMU countries. The sector has been implementing the Axle Load Control and management in accordance with the Road Traffic Act 683 and the Road Traffic Regulations 2012 (LI 2180) which has incorporated sections of the ECOWAS Supplementary Act. Intensive education and sensitization on the new regulation has been undertaken. Key stakeholders such as Freight Forwarders, Haulers, Truckers, Ports, Private Weighbridge Station Operators have been involved in this sensitization programme under the Axle Load Working group chaired by the Ministry of Roads and Highways. The current allowable load limit in Ghana is 60 tons even though authorities say they are working gradually to achieve a 51 ton maximum load limit in the very near future. The allowable height is 4.5 metres and allowable width is 2.55 metres.

Axle load limits Ghana Togo ECOWAS

Truck with 2 axles 21 mt 23 mt 18 mt

Truck with 3 axles 30.5 mt 34 mt 26 mt

Truck with 4 axles 37.5 mt 41 mt 31 mt

Semi-trailer with 3 axles 34.5 mt 39 mt 30 mt

Semi-trailer with 4 axles 44 mt 50 mt 38 mt

Semi-trailer with 5 axles 50.5 mt 50 mt 43 mt

Semi-trailer with 6 axles 60 mt 68 mt 51 mt

Truck & drawbar trailer with 4 axles 44 mt 50 mt 38 mt

Truck & drawbar trailer with 5 axles 50.5 mt 61 mt 46 mt

Truck & drawbar trailer with 6 axles 60 mt 68 mt 51 mt

Truck & drawbar trailer with 7 axles 60 mt N/A N/A

Road Class and Surface Conditions

It is estimated that Ghana has about 67,291 km of road network today. Of this, 12,785 km are trunk roads, 42,394 km are feeder roads and 12,112 km are urban roads. 83% of trunk roads, 36% of urban roads and 72% of feeder roads are considered being in either good or fair condition. The network size, of which only 17% is paved, grows at an average rate of 8% per year.

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