Residents of Sumbrungu in the Bolgatanga Municipality have protested on the Bolgatanga–Navrongo Highway, demanding the immediate construction of speed ramps to control the speed of vehicles plying the road.
The residents, comprising mostly youth, created barricades to prevent vehicles from passing, to press home their demands after several appeals to the authorities over the years fell on deaf ears.
According to the residents, many people have lost their lives through road crashes and pedestrians knocked down by over-speeding vehicles.
In 2026 alone, four accidents have been recorded on the stretch, with the latest tragic incident occurring on February 15, 2026, when a staff member of Bolgatanga Technical University, his visibly pregnant wife, and their daughter were killed by an over-speeding vehicle.
The Sumbrungu community lies along the main Bolgatanga–Navrongo highway but does not have a single speed ramp, creating an avenue for vehicles to overspeed and cause accidents.
Apart from having one of the largest markets in the Bolgatanga Municipality, which attracts traders from within the municipality and neighbouring districts, the university is also located in the community, making the area consistently busy.
Mr Albert Adongo, President of the Sumbrungu Youth and Development Association, lamented the longstanding neglect of their appeals for road safety interventions, including the construction of speed ramps, and said the protest would continue until their demands were met.
He revealed that over the years, past Assembly Members had written several letters to the Ministry of Roads and Highways and other relevant authorities requesting the construction of speed ramps on the stretch, but all efforts had proved futile.
He accused successive governments of neglect, stressing that the Sumbrungu stretch was the only section of the entire Bolgatanga–Navrongo highway without a single speed ramp, while other towns along the road had them.
He emphasised that the community had suffered enough fatalities and injuries from repeated accidents and could no longer remain silent.
He warned that if authorities failed to act urgently, residents would continue their protests and might be compelled to construct their own speed ramps to protect lives.
Mr Donatus Atanga Akamugri, the Upper East Regional Minister, upon hearing of the protest, visited the community and empathised with the residents.
He acknowledged that their concerns had previously been brought to his office.
Mr Akamugri added that was engaging the Ministry of Roads and Highways to address the situation.
Mr Emmanuel Antwi, the Upper East Regional Director of Roads and Highways, who accompanied the Regional Minister, assured residents that concrete steps were being taken to resolve the issue.
He announced that by Friday, the Safety Zonal Officer would visit the area to assess and zone the road for the construction of speed ramps, after which the necessary road safety structures would be installed in due course.
Following the assurances, the aggrieved demonstrators expressed mixed feelings but agreed to reopen the blocked road.
Traffic flow, which had been heavily affected for hours, gradually returned to normal as vehicles began to move smoothly once again.
Residents, however, maintained that they would closely monitor the situation and expect authorities to fulfil their promises to prevent future tragedies in the area.
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