President John Dramani Mahama says motorists could complete the journey between Accra and Kumasi in about two hours once the proposed Accra-Kumasi Expressway is completed.
The President said the shorter alignment and higher speed limit of the new highway would transform travel between the country’s two major economic centres.
Speaking at Kwaso in the Ashanti Region on Monday, September 14, during the handover of the cleared right-of-way, Mahama said the existing route is considerably longer.
“The old alignment, the Accra-Kumasi Highway, is 270 kilometers from Accra to Kumasi. So it means that with 198.7 kilometers, we’ve shaved off almost 70 kilometers of the traveling distance between Accra and Kumasi.”
He said the expressway would have a recommended speed of 120 kilometres per hour, further improving travel times.
“Even if he is traveling at 100 kilometers an hour, it means that the journey will take him two hours instead of the five to six hours that we currently use on the old Accra-Kumasi highway.”
The President said the improvement would allow people to travel to Accra for business and return to Kumasi the same day.
The proposed highway is a major component of the government’s Big Push infrastructure programme and will connect Greater Accra, the Eastern Region and Ashanti Region.
Unlike the existing highway, the new route is planned as a 198.7-kilometre six-lane expressway, with interchanges and service facilities intended to support smoother movement of people and goods.
The project reached a key preparatory milestone after the Ghana Armed Forces cleared 175.6 kilometres of the right-of-way in 19 weeks, one week ahead of the 20-week target.
With the corridor now cleared, government is expected to proceed with the next stages of the project ahead of construction.
