Tema, April 15, GNA – Scores of drivers have expressed displeasure at the traffic congestion on the road linking Tema Community Two to the Sakumono Beach Road during rush hours due to the operations of haulage trucks.
The drivers told the Ghana News Agency at Tema that they had over a long period of time enjoyed the free vehicular movement along the Meridian road until the Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), a privately owned shipping line, opened its container terminal some 300 meters away from the road.
The drivers cited the terminal, with its operations of haulage trucks and haphazard parking of heavy duty trucks, as the probable cause of the traffic that built up during rush hours.
The GNA observed that, during those hours, mostly after 1700 hours when workers and traders close from work, it takes the intervention of the Police to direct gridlock on that stretch of the road.
Mr Dennis Quaye, a commercial driver told the GNA in Tema that, he mostly avoided the Meridian Road because the heavy traffic had over the period led to loss in productive time for most workers who got aboard his vehicle.
He said, “It is worrying to ignore passengers by the road side because of the situation since all the day will be spent in stationary traffic”.
He also blamed the Cocoa Marketing Company Limited for allowing their heavy duty truck drivers to use their reservation areas as a parking lot -a situation which seemingly heightened the problem.
Mr Kojo Yeboah, another commercial driver who plies that stretch, said, the company ought to get a new parking lot for the trucks to ensure free flow of traffic in the area.
He appealed to the appropriate authorities to take the necessary measures to help curb the traffic situation on that stretch.
GNA