CRSG GOT IT WRONG WITH THOSE JERSEY BARRIERS – CALABA TOWN WATERLOO ROAD
We know there was so much fanfare behind the expansion of the highway from Calaba town to Masiaka. And that was during King Messi’s reign but there were also mooted concerns when it emerged that there will be three toll gates collecting cash from the good people of Sierra Leone as they went about their normal business. Well it turned out indeed to be a pay per use highway with the three toll gates installed along the way.
The road is yet to be completed though the toll gates are there already and raking in money every day. We still remember the intense debate this particular stretch generated at the time with people quite upset to be practically forced into paying toll fares for the one and only road connecting the Freetown peninsular to the rest of the country.
With all the issues surrounding the road, the company contracted to do the work China Railway Seventh Group (CRSG) has continued its work and we want to believe the stretch from Calaba Town to Waterloo has been completed but something very disturbing about the road has surfaced and it’s pretty serious. We are talking here about the Jersey Barriers at various points along the road that have become a nightmare for drivers.
These are the low concrete barriers separating lanes going in opposite direction. Naturally jersey barriers are erected to prevent head-on collision and keep drivers on their guard. Sadly, that’s not the case with the jersey barriers on this road; they’ve been responsible for most of the accidents so frequently happening there these days. Drivers are complaining every day about the nature of work done on the barriers. Many have climbed over the barriers and have had a number of passenger fatalities and injuries. Most of the vehicles that have accidentally crashed over the barriers have had their base or gearbox completely damaged.
The accidents happen where there is an opening between the lanes that indicates a potential exit but this is where CRSG got it all wrong! The barriers separating and facing each other on the exit partitions at various points on the road are for unknown reasons very slender, in total contrast to the broader barriers along the way. Drivers especially at night are likely to ride over the slender ends of the barriers.
Every motorist plying that route is complaining about those barriers that have become a very costly nuisance. If those CRSG engineers fail to reshape or broaden those barriers then the accidents will continue.
Late last week a truck carrying a container load of timber climbed those barriers and tipped over. Luckily no one died but traffic flow was disrupted for the rest of the evening, until a crane was sent to winch the vehicle off the road. CRSG engineers must act now as motorists are not happy at all with those silly looking jersey barriers!
WATER WATER EVERYWHERE BUT NOT A DROP TO DRINK. HOW ABOUT HARVESTING RAIN?
This issue of water shortage in Freetown is an age old problem that successive governments have not been able to solve. Sierra Leone has some of the heaviest rainfall in sub-Saharan Africa. Our rich rainforest and numerous water catchment areas have all provided us with the opportunity to make water available to all throughout the year. We are all focused on pipe- borne water to reach our houses and industries. Well we hear Principal’s administration is keen to see our taps running again but we know it is going to be a colossal task with the teeming settlements in Freetown in particular that have seen pipes rust away. Hundreds of millions of dollars would be needed to fix the pipe-borne water problem facing Freetown and other major cities and towns across the country.
Innovative minds are now suggesting that we take to harvesting of rain water as another means to address the water shortage we continually face. Some might think it is old fashioned but it’s about storing up water for the dry season and that could be quite a prudent proposition indeed.
You drive around the rural parts of the Western area during the rainy season and you see numerous waterfalls on the hills with almost every few miles. The recently discovered Mambo waterfall has become a favorite relaxation spot for young people. Up the hills of Grafton there are also many spots with water gushing through the rocks endlessly during the rainy season.
The water that is wasting away can be harvested and stored and used judiciously during the dry season when water is relatively scarce. In the beginning it would be somehow expensive in terms of cost for logistics, engineering and plumbing work but it would create less anxiety in the dry season. This is no small project and it would require huge storage facilities strategically placed at certain areas from where the water could be supplied to residents. Some years ago an international Agency here discussed the idea of harvesting and storing rain water. Nothing stops us from thinking and dreaming. Over to Ministry of Water Resources and SALWACO!
WHEN WILL THAT POTHOLE AT CLOCK TOWER GO AWAY?
Motorists and pedestrians are just too fed up with that huge pothole right in the middle of the road by the Eastern Police/ Clock Tower vicinity. That huge crater like mess leading towards Fourah bay road is a mighty embarrassment in the heart of the city of Freetown. We have lost count of the numerous ‘’patch up’’ work done on that particular spot and it seems those working on it have either been doing a haphazard work or have lost ideas on how to fix the mess.
Pedestrians and motorists have to struggle through the pothole that is filled with dirty puddle. Some folks were seen not too long ago applying asphalt on that very spot but people are so surprised to see it all washed away so soon. This place must be fixed once and for all.
Imagine the volume of traffic on that road. Those who were given contract to do those spot improvements should return to the worksite immediately and do a proper job. We are not received any value for our cash so we want the job done properly. Thanks.
PASSENGERS WITHOUT MASK AND NOT DRIVERS SHOULD BE ARRESTED
The Security Forces are really serious about people in cars masking up these days; checkpoints are up along busy routes around the capital ensuring compliance with CIVID-19 measures. We must admit that the Police and military are doing a good job and on the whole we can say people are buying the masks and using them. However, we’ve noticed that penalties are being applied in a manner we think must be revisited. Many motorists have borne the brunt by having to pay a fine of 100,000 Leones for having a passenger without mask. Well drivers are now asking people to have their masks with them whilst boarding but some people have still been found not to be with face masks at checkpoints yet the drivers are the ones to suffer.
People are demanding the individual passenger be punished instead. People are too stubborn. It’s almost as if those masking up are crazy. The world has been gripped by COVID-19 for months now, big and powerful countries are counting their dead in their hundreds of thousands and we have people in this little space called Sierra Leone who definitely refuse to follow simple medical instruction. Implement the law please.
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