Things even get worse if there is an accident or those long haulage trucks have come to discharge their cargo of rice and sugar, which we enjoy importing from other countries, into the various warehouses. I believe some of the business entities operating on it will be willing to lend support once they know a better road will enhance their operations.ĭriving on the Spintex Road in either direction can be hell. Surely, the Spintex Road is one of the busiest commercial roads in Accra and we do not need a seer to tell us that it needs proper upgrading. Jostling for space between these giant companies are the usual containers and kiosks selling anything, from second-hand goods which include old bed sheets, blankets, towels, plates, glasses, bowls, computers, stoves, television sets and computers, to provisions and alcoholic beverages.Īs should be expected, the heavy traffic is too much for the once rough and dusty Spintex Road to carry. PAPAYE, the local food chain, the Bank of Ghana warehouse, a host of wine and liquor shops, coffee shops, fast food joints, nightclubs, pharmacies, including one belonging to Ernest Chemists, Kpogas and Platinum furniture companies are all bona fide tenants on the Spintex Road. To serve the fuel needs of motorists are GOIL, SHELL, OANDO, GLORY, TOTAL, AGAPET and ALLIED OIL. The financial institutions could not be left out and almost all the banks worth their salt, especially the new ones, have all got branches on the Spintex Road.Īt least I can count ECOBANK, STANBIC, BARCLAYS, ZENITH, PRUDENTIAL, UNIBANK and STANCHART. This mall was touted as the biggest shopping mall in town until GAME and SHOPRITE came to put paid to that claim. One motor firm, Sneda Motors, did not fail to realise the opportunities that the Spintex Road had on offer and quickly opened a showroom opposite the Palace Shopping Mall. Commercial houses which could predict the needs of the residents of these estates did not hesitate to open shops on both sides of the road. So it came to pass that many estate developers grabbed land and built estates along the Spintex Road. It had its first taste of bitumen around 1992, when the authorities began to recognise its potential.Īt first, the development was gradual, then suddenly there was an explosion and the Spintex Road became the target of business worth its salt. With time, this road witnessed rapid development as speculators who could see into the future acquired plots for various development projects. It derives its name from one of the textile companies operating there - Spintex, which has since become Printex, but the name of the road remains the same. This road began as a rough laterite road which acted as a bypass serving the needs of a few industrial establishments at the time that had to transport materials from the Tema Port. Sharing the same fate with the Accra-Tema Motorway is the Spintex Road. The officially approved exit point was among those which were closed by the same Department of Urban Roads in an exercise to close all unapproved routes. Unfortunately, the joy of the aforementioned communities was shortlived. Those who want to remain on the good side of the law have no option but to use the Beach Road running through Teshie and Nungua or the Spintex Road, which has its own story to tell. The expectation was that various exit and entry points would be incorporated into the new design to ensure that all the safety concerns and the interests of the residents of the newly-developed communities were addressed.Īs it is now, residents of the new communities, confronted by survival instincts, have taken a decision which has its ramifications by creating unapproved roads onto the Motorway. Many Ghanaians expected that by now the Motorway would have been redesigned to assume a bigger role beyond being a link between Accra and Tema. It is, therefore, strange that what is obvious to the ordinary person has not made any impression on the minds of our urban development planners. In fact, technically speaking, a huge chunk of the Tema township has grown alongside the Motorway and the only way these settlements can link up with their roots in metropolitan Tema is by the Motorway or through what is popularly known as the Beach Road which has its own problems. Among the industrial establishments are the giant Coca-Cola Bottling Company, Printex, Johnson Wax, Kasapreko, Ghana Cylinder Manufacturing Company and Papaye, the food giant.įrom the above, it is obvious that the Motorway had long ceased to be an express way linking two cities, to become virtually a street running through several townships or residential settlements.
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