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
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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.
Description
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