The effect of highway bypass on socio-economic life of Nkawkaw town,

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Date
2015-04-21
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Abstract
The Kumasi – Accra Road is a section of the National highway network (route N6) and like most national road networks in Ghana, it passes through towns. The continuous cluster of these towns and communities along the highways and their attendant negative effects on traffic mobility and safety has increased the demand for bypassing them. The construction of highway bypasses has resulted in important economic benefits. Perhaps the most significant benefit is the travel time savings of through motorists who avoid the slower speeds, stops, and congestion associated with driving through towns. Highway bypasses also result in benefits for residents of towns with bypasses. For example, by diverting trucks and other through traffic away from the main town, traffic congestion and noise is reduced. Also traffic safety is enhanced due to reduced pedestrian -vehicle conflicts, and the local population is less exposed to health-threatening vehicle emissions and hazardous materials. In addition, highway bypasses enable local motorists to realize travel time savings when driving from one end of the town to the other. Despite the benefits of highway bypasses, they remain controversial. Some local business owners in the town being bypassed may be concerned that the reduction of traffic passing through the town will adversely affect their sales. This is especially the case for travel related businesses such as hotels, restaurants. Case studies of the economic impacts of highway bypasses on individual towns are needed since the effects of bypasses may vary a great deal from place to place. This research identifies the effect of highway bypasses on the socio-economic life of Nkawkaw town. Also it is important to discover which types of businesses are impacted by MSc Construction Mgt,2014 iv Nkawkaw highway bypasses, and the magnitude of the impact. Accordingly, the objectives of this research are; a) To identify the economic impact of the bypass on businesses trader s b) to identify the environmental and safety impact on the local habitats In achieving the above objective, a case study approach methodology was adopted. The method adopted was mainly qualitative. Questionnaires were administered to the inhabitants of the Nkawkaw town along the old route and in the central business area in an attempt to collect data which comprised the perception of residents, business owners and opinion leaders to access the impact of the bypass. The research concluded that the construction of the bypass has served the purpose of improving traffic flow by reducing congestion on the old route but has also brought a reduction of sales and customers to the previously drive through traffic related businesses. It has also resulted in a environmental and safety benefits. On the whole, the bypass has been perceived to have positively affected the entire life of people in Nkawkaw.
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A dessertation submitted to the Department of Building Technology, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the award of Master of science in Construction Management
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