A group of quarry operators are funding the reconstruction of three broken bridges which have restricted movement in Afigya in the Kwabre South District of the Ashanti region.

The structures at Hemang, Krobo and Mowire estimated to cost ¢1.3m are financed through a special fund for community support instituted by the Northern Quarry Association with the help of the District Assembly. 

The quarry operators made regular contributions into this fund until they got the required amount needed for the project. 

The ongoing project which is expected to be finished in three months has been hailed by members of the community who suffered the most when the bridges went down.

According to Luv FM’s Ohemeng Tawiah, most motorist and other road users, including school children, were forced to use alternative routes whenever there a slight downpour.

“This bridge is our headache. It is a big issue, especially when it rains. The whole area gets flooded, you only have to wait until the rain subsides.

“This means you have to spend the night on whichever side of the road you are on until the floods recede,” a  taxi driver recounted his experience to the reporter.

On his part, an elderly man in the community said, “I cannot quantify the difficulty we had to go through. Whenever it starts to rain two vehicles could not pass at the same time. There was no support from any quarters.”

Thankful, the Northern Quarry Association has already paid for the construction of the bridges.

Chairman of the Association, Adu Tutu-Gyamfi was happy they could intervene.

“We paid for the construction of all three major bridges,” he gleefully said.

Christian Adu Poku, District Chief Executive of the area said the community can now point to something concrete as the contribution of the Association in its over 60 years of operation there.