President John Dramani Mahama has ardently defended the plans for the Accra–Kumasi Expressway, asserting that the recent traffic congestion on the highway underscores the pressing necessity for the project.
The President’s remarks follow widespread public discontent after motorists and passengers endured between 12 and 24 hours in traffic on segments of the Accra–Kumasi highway from December 31, 2025, to January 1, 2026.
The gridlock, which impacted areas such as Juaso, Asankari, and Dwaso, was attributed to large-scale church events that attracted thousands of worshippers from across the nation.
Despite the Ministry of Roads and Highways explaining that the congestion was an isolated incident, Mahama insists that the event reveals deeper structural issues and reinforces the necessity for a modern expressway connecting Accra and Kumasi.
While addressing the flagship infrastructure initiative under his government’s Big Push agenda at the annual New Year school conference in Accra on Tuesday, January 6, Mahama stated that critics of the proposed expressway would gain a better understanding of its importance if they had experienced the severe traffic congestion recorded during the New Year period.
The President noted that a single church convention caused traffic on the Accra–Kumasi road to come to a halt for over seven hours, highlighting the inadequacies of the current road network linking Ghana’s two largest cities.
Accra serves as the capital and is the largest city in the country, while Kumasi ranks as the second largest.
Mahama characterized it as unacceptable that these two major economic centers are primarily connected by a single-lane highway, cautioning that such conditions impede movement, commerce, and national development.
He assured Ghanaians that this situation would soon be resolved, revealing that preparations are in progress to commence construction of the Accra–Kumasi Expressway early this year.
“One of the hallmark initiatives in our extensive development plan is the Accra-Kumasi Expressway. For those who have expressed opposition to this project, I hope they experienced the traffic congestion during the New Year when a single church convention caused the Accra-Kumasi road to be in gridlock for over seven hours.
“Accra, being the largest city and the capital of Ghana, alongside Kumasi, the second largest city, highlights the inadequacy of having only a single-lane road connecting these two significant urban centers. This situation will soon be a thing of the past, and I eagerly anticipate the groundbreaking ceremony for the construction to take place early this year.”
