KN Interchange: Beautiful at night and in the air, ugly in the day and on the ground

The newly-constructed Kwame Nkrumah Interchange was on Monday, November 14 officially opened to traffic, and as expected, with some fanfare.

Speaking at the inauguration ceremony, President John Mahama hinted the interchange was going to save the country $100 million annually because prior to the project, over $100m was lost as a result of the gridlock in the area which severely affected productive activities.

READ ALSO: Kwame Nkrumah Interchange saving Ghana $100 million yearly - Mahama

And many were happy because of the relief the estimated €74m road network which's construction begun three years ago, was going to bring to commuters, drivers and the general public as a whole. 

Apart from the economic benefits and relief to road users, others were also just impressed with the architecture with an elated President Mahama on record to have said "this is the longest flyover and the highest in West Africa...please note I said flyover, the longest bridge is in Lagos, Nigeria but the longest and highest flyover is in Accra, Ghana".

In addition to the flyover itself, the Kwame Nkrumah Interchange also has a memorial garden, an Nkrumah statue, a clinic, a library, police station, fire service post, and an ambulance service station which makes it quite understandable for one to be impressed especially after pictures surfaced on social media.

The pictures, particularly the night shots were so beautiful that it came as little or no surprise when some nicknamed it a 'mini Dubai' in reference to the famous dancing fountains of Dubai.

READ ALSO: SEE: Mahama opens GHC320m Nkrumah interchange to traffic

However, even a hurried inspection of the edifice brings to the fore a very contrasting reality and the fact that the Kwame Nkrumah Interchange is still very far from making Accra, the 'Dubai of West Africa'.

The thing, put plainly, is not as beautiful as it is in the pictures which have been circulated and you would wonder whether to still believe in the expression 'pictures don't lie' or not.

In just about five minutes from the garden towards the Neoplan Station, one can count more than twenty spots with a broken or uncompleted arrangement of pavement blocks and it is worse on the stretch near Ebony restaurant towards the Tip-Toe Lane Traffic Light.

Under the flyover on this same stretch where pedestrians are supposed to cross from the old footbridge towards the newly built station, there is a heap of rubble packed there which impedes the movement.

Around the new station, you will come across many trenches with some red tubes hanging and long stretches of land yet to be paved.

A quick interview with one of the workers of Quieroz Galvao, the executing contractors of the project, who wished to remain anonymous revealed that work on the Interchange had not really been completed "but we had to put in some measures so the inauguration ceremony could come off".

His revelation brings some much-needed relief but the question is why is the work not continuing over a week after the ceremony?

It is very important that all these minor works are completed for the place to be tidied up.

It is there and then that we could liken the Kwame Nkrumah Interchange and its ancillary facilities to anything of its nature in Dubai, else, it would be a story of ugly-beauty; beautiful in the night and when viewed in the air but ugly in the day and when watched on the ground.