Road Network 

Road transport is by far the dominant carrier of freight and passengers in Ghana's land transport system. It carries over 95% of all passenger and freight traffic and reaches most communities, and is classified under three categories of trunk roads, urban roads, and feeder roads. The Ghana Highway Authority, established in 1974 was tasked with developing and maintaining the country's trunk road network. 

The county’s total road network was estimated at 94,203km, with 27% paved and 73% unpaved. The interventions over the last 6 years have led to a marked improvement of Ghana’s road network to 44% good, 34% fair and 22% poor, that is, a 7% reduction in the proportion of roads in poor condition”. source  

Trunk roads in Ghana are classified as “National roads”, “Regional roads”, and “Inter-regional roads”, all of which form the Ghana road network.  

National roads, designated with the letter N, link all the major population centres in Ghana. Regional roads, designated with the letter R, are a mix of primary and secondary routes, which serve as feeder roads to National roads; while Inter-Regional roads, designated with the prefix IR, connect major settlements across regional borders. 

With respect to this mode of transport, many people prefer to use the public means. Many of the town and cities in the country can be reached using urban buses known as "trotro" or taxis. For inter-regional transport bigger buses are normally used. 

Road transport buses are the main mode of transport accounting for about 60% of passenger movement. Taxis account for only 14.5% with the remaining accounted for by private cars.  One important trend in road transport (especially inter-city) is that there has been a shift from minibuses towards medium and large cars with capacities of 30-70 seats. There has been a growing preference for good buses as the sector continues to offer more options to passenger in tons of quality of vehicles used. According to the Ministry of Roads and Transport. 

The Ghana road network is 94,203 km and road transportation are the most dominant choice of transportation in Ghana. Road transport infrastructure in Ghana can be used throughout to facilitate the exchange of commodities and enable regular school attendance and fast access to health facilities in Ghana. The intention is to have many of the existing highways tolled and private-sector participation in road construction and ownership. 

For more information on government agency and airport company contact information, please see the following links: 4.1 Government Contact List.

Distance Matrix 

Distances from Capital City to Major Towns (km) 

Travel Time from Capital City to Major Towns (hours) 

Road Security 

The National Road Safety Authority (NRSA), is the lead agency for road safety management in Ghana under the Ministry of Transport. It was established by the NRSA Act, 2019 (Act 993) to develop and promote road safety, to coordinate and regulate activities, procedures and standards related to road safety and to provide for related matters. 

The Act has since August 2, 2019, received presidential assent, and repeals the NRSC Act, 1999 (Act 567) that established the National Road Safety Commission. In addition to the existing mandate under the Commission of promoting best road safety practices among road users and coordinating road safety activities, the NRSA Act provides for an enhanced mandate where the Authority is now empowered to regulate, ensure implementation and enforcement of road safety standards and procedures. 

With regards to the new Act, Act 2019 (Acts 993) the National Road Safety Authority is mandated to issue compliance notices to institutions or organizations who breach road safety standards. 

OBJECTIF OF THE AUTHORITY 

The Objectif of the Authority is to reduce the incidence of road traffic crashes, fatalities and injuries through the: 

• Promotion of road safety 

• Development and coordination of policies in relation to road safety 

• Implementation and enforcement of standards for road safety 

The Key functions of the Authority under the Act 993 include the following: 

• Nationwide road safety education, campaigns and publicity. 

• Ensure the implementation and enforcement of road safety standards and procedures in addition to the earlier mandate of promoting best road safety practices among road users and coordinating road safety activities. 

• Develop a long-term plan for the promotion of road safety and the reduction of road traffic crashes, fatalities and injuries and collaborate with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority, road agencies, enforcement agencies, crash response agencies and road transport service providers to implement the plan. 

• Collaborate with other relevant agencies to co-ordinate, monitor and evaluate road safety activities, programmes and strategies. 

• Issue notices in the form of directives, procedures or cautions to persons to provide or correct irregularity in procedures, standards, practices and operations to prevent or minimize road traffic crashes, fatalities and injuries. 

• Receive complaints and investigate violations of road safety standards, Regulations and best practices and advise the Minister on the measures required to prevent or minimize road safety risks. 

• Ensure institutional compliance with procedures and standards related to road safety. 

• Collaborate with the Ghana Education Service and other relevant bodies to develop road safety education as part of the curriculum for pre-tertiary level schools and colleges of education. 

• Collaborate with the Building and Road Research Institute, the Ghana Standards Authority and other bodies with relevant knowledge and expertise in road safety to develop standards for road safety equipment and ensure compliance. 

• Regulate road transport and related services. 

Weighbridges and Axle Load Limits 

Axle load control and management is a critical issue for all the countries in the sub-region since excessive loading of trucks is one of the causes of early deterioration of the roads. The Supplementary Act Act/SP.17/02/12 relating to the Harmonisation of Standards and Procedures for the Control of Dimensions, Weigh and Axle Load of Goods Vehicle within Member States of the Economic Community of West African States was approved by the HoSG in Abuja 16-17 February 2012. Ghana commenced its program in earnest in June 2009 as part of an agreement with WAEMU countries. The sector has been implementing the Axle Load Control and management in accordance with the Road Traffic Act 683 and the Road Traffic Regulations 2012 (LI 2180) which has incorporated sections of the ECOWAS Supplementary Act.  Intensive education and sensitization on the new regulation has been undertaken. Key stakeholders such as Freight Forwarders, Haulers, Truckers, Ports, Private Weighbridge Station Operators have been involved in this sensitization programme under the Axle Load Working group chaired by the Ministry of Roads and Highways. The current allowable load limit in Ghana is 60 tones even though authorities say they are working gradually to achieve a 51 tons maximum load limit in the very near future. The allowable height is 4.5 metres and allowable width is 2.55 metres. 

PERMISSIBLE AXLE LOAD, GROSS WEIGHT AND DIMENSION LIMITS