Rep. Saah Joseph issues 48hrs ultimatum

Montserrado County District#13 Representative, Saah Joseph, has given 48 hours to the Ministry of Public Works to resume the Gardnersville Somalia Drive road project.

Representative Joseph, dubbed here as ‘Ebola Hero’ said, if the Ministry failed to do a little brush up on the road in order to contain the heavy traffic, he would take the initiative to fix the road.

He noted that due to the deplorable condition of the Somalia Drive, residents of the Gardnersville community are unable to reach to work on time. The daily traffic jam is so intense and has become an embarrassment, constraining workers, students, business and even ordinary people to leave their respective homes as early as 4 a.m. to get to town.

The Somalia Drive road project is being sponsored by the Government of Japan, but was suspended last year due to the Ebola Virus outbreak.  

The road condition in the Gardnersville area, particularly in the Battery Factory community is so bad to such an extent that the traffic comes to an immediate halt, leading to the Stockton Creek Bridge and Jamaica Road Junction from Battery Factory.

Representative Joseph stressed the need for the Public Works Ministry to do something immediately to ease the in convenience faced by residents.

The Lawmaker said he already has his tools ready to fill in pot holes and do some brush up to avoid the traffic congestion. He said if nothing were done now, when the rainy season comes, it will pose difficulty for residents in that city suburb to get to town.

Due to the poor road condition and heavy traffic, drivers refuse to ply the Somalia Drive road, and the few, who decide to go there, inflate the fares against the Ministry of Transportation’s stipulated fare list.

Thousands of commuters are left standing in the sun for hours just because the road is bad and no driver wants to ply the Gardnersville route. After standing in the sun for hours, one will take about three hours just to reach to town due to the traffic, for a distance that usually takes about 20 t0 30 minutes.

The problem of traffic congestion in the Somalia Drive leads to a serious trauma as some people resort to trek to and from town many days. Drivers complain that their cars’ under carriers risk damaging because of bouncing in pot holes and they also consume lot of gas in the traffic.

The Gardnersville bad road is now making the Sinkor Boulevard road to experience traffic congestion too, as most drivers are now plying the Sinkor route to easily get to town.

By Ethel A. Tweh