Under the Transportation Planning Unit, we have the Transport Planning Activities, Safeguards, Streetscape Management and Right of Way Management.

Transport Planning Activities include;

Project Preparation
The Department has developed a standardized procedure to guide us on the actions to take to assist proponents who have expressed interest in partnering the MRH in developing part of the urban road network.

New Projects  (Pipeline Projects)
The Department has carried out some major transportation studies in the past and the outcomes of these studies have resulted in projects. There is a project profile that is constantly updated by the planning section to inform and guide our donor agencies and development partners in our preferred direction of growth.

Roads Numbering and Digitzed Maps

The Department has carried out a road numbering exercise. The functional classification and road hierarchy of roadways on the network is vital for every road management system, as it clearly demonstrates the importance and relevance of each. All the major & minor arterial roads, collector roads and some strategic local roads have been numbered as the road network of the Department. All these numbered roads have been digitized.

Integrated Mobility Plans Reports

The Department has begun the process of developing integrated mobility plans for all our urban areas.

Citizens Engagement 

The Department is making a conscious effort to engage the public during project implementation as much as possible. These engagements are at various levels namely;

– Mass Communication through radio and television announcement to guide motorist and pedestrians on alterations to movements.

–  Focus groups discussions with identifiable stakeholder such as MCE’s, MP’s, Chiefs and Opinion Leaders etc. to inform them of our proposals and seek their views to be incorporated in the final plans.

– Social Media presence which informs the public on our projects in general, the convenience it will offer commuters and public education on the do’s and don’ts of our road network.

Road construction works affect stakeholders differently with either positive or negative impacts. The safeguards unit identifies and manages these impacts and ensure sustainability of the road infrastructure, project implementation applies safeguards standards and statutory regulations to mitigate the negative impacts from the execution of these projects.

The Environmental section of DUR has a responsibility of coordinating environmental and social safeguards issues that may arise as a result in the processes of development and maintenance of its projects.

The unit liaises with other relevant institutions to ensure that all the required standards are maintained in all ongoing projects and ensures that all the necessary documentation is prepared.

The Department of Urban Roads is implementing a general improvement of the urban street scape and public realm by creating sustainable green spaces along the urban road network, useable spaces in our urban rooms which have a sense of community, murals, and arts (sculptures) that depict our culture, history, religion, and overall lifestyle as Ghanaians whiles providing and developing climate resilient infrastructure for the country.

These innovations will be found around our interchanges, roundabouts, and our medians in dual carriageways.

Acquisition & ROW Management

The protection of road Right of Way (ROW) is important to prevent encroachment which result in delays in project implementation and payment of huge sums of money as compensation to affected property owners. Some of the ways of managing road ROW are as follows;

1. Monitoring of the ROW with drones always capturing the state of the reservation

2. Occasional grading of the corridor to prevent mounting of structures by encroachers

3. Planting of avenue trees to demarcate the ROW and green the corridor

4. Planting of ROW pillars

Utility Coordination
The unit coordinates the activities of all interested institutions in the ROW such as the ECG, GWCL and Telecommunications. The unit is the secretariat for the National Engineering Coordinating Team, the team responsible for the coordination of all works within the ROW to ensure strict adherence to the Road Reservation Manual developed in the year 2000.

DUR has developed a flow chart for Utility Relocation, this is to guide the processes to follow to ensure compliance. There is the urgent need to plan utility relocation well in advance of major projects.

Road Safety Audit

The Unit is responsible for the Road Safety and Traffic management activities of the Department oversees and manages about 14,500 km road network within Urban networks in Ghana.

The various activities for the unit are outlined as follows:

– Carry out Road Safety Audits for the various design stages, new and existing roads

– Carry out road line reflectivity Test 

– Carry out standard /compliance checks 

– Undertake Capacity Building/Training exercises

– Supervises Traffic Management works

– Carry out stakeholder meetings/engagements in safety related matters

– Review project documents (reports/drawings, etc.)

– Generate revenue for the Department.

Traffic Management

Oversight of the Accra Traffic Management Center

The Unit manages the Achimota to CBD corridor using a set of applications, management tools and intelligent transport systems (ITS).

The following activities are carried out in the TMC during the monitoring of the pilot corridor:

1. Daily monitoring of the 102 cameras

2. Remote resetting of the intersection

3. Training of staff on the operations of Video Traffic Detection systems

4. Road Safety sensitization using variable message Signs on the field

5. Coordination with the Police MTTD to check red light traffic violators system functionality

Oversight Traffic Signal Maintenance Works

The Department has 362 traffic signal systems in eleven (11) regions and there are 3 maintenance contractors managing them on behalf of the department. The unit supervises these contractors.

Monitoring of Traffic Management Works

The Department has the responsibility of improving intersections which are not performing at their optimum levels and ensuring the safety of all road users. Several projects are being carried out and supervised and/or managed by the Unit.