By Mama A. Touray
Although significant improvements have been made to road infrastructure in The Gambia, commercial drivers at the Brusubi roundabout are frustrated by what they consider a poorly constructed highway from Airport Junction to Turntable.
While there have been improvements, with many roads constructed and others maintained, the slow pace of development for certain roads is disappointing. The Bertil Harding Highway is considered a major advancement in transforming The Gambia’s road infrastructure, offering promises of economic growth, better connectivity, and an enhanced quality of life for citizens. Nevertheless, drivers and commuters continue to encounter considerable challenges when travelling on these roads.
Dodou Badjie, a taxi driver with eight years of experience, lamented the poor quality of road construction.
“Gambia needs to invest in road infrastructure. [For example], if you are driving from Coastal Road towards Sukuta/Jabang Traffic Light, [there should be a place to turn before reaching] Traffic Light. [Currently, you have to drive] up to Traffic Light and turn [around] just to get to your destination, and the fuel you will use to get there with no feeder road is costly”.
Badjie stated that building roads through the centre of a village without any diversions or turning points is disadvantageous, especially given the high cost of fuel, saying they cannot impose high charges on customers due to the substandard construction, as “We are all aware of the country’s challenging conditions.”
“Before Senegambia, you have a roundabout at Kasumai Junction and before Traffic Light you have a roundabout at Senegambia, so why is the Coastal Road Highway different from the Bakau Traffic Light Highway,” he questioned.
Musa Jallow, also a taxi driver, shared similar sentiments with Dodou.
“The main highway [Bertil Harding Highway] does not have a turning point at certain places; you can only turn at roundabouts. Sometimes, you are in haste and want to go to other places, but you cannot unless you go up to a particular roundabout and when you reach that roundabout as well you usually find that it’s congested”.
Jallow called on the government through the Ministry of Transport, Works and Infrastructure to construct feeder roads and create better turning points for drivers.
The Vice President of the Brusubi Roundabout Garage, Ablie Jallow, has expressed that the frequent issues stem from the poor design of the roundabout, which often leads to considerable delays due to regular congestion.
He mentioned that the free traffic on the highway ends at Airport Junction en route to Brikama, and the road from Yundum to Brikama is congested, often resulting in longer travel times for drivers.
“If you go to Brikama before you return it takes time especially if you have a van or small vehicle. [The number of passengers] you carry and [the money] you make out of that is not profitable. [This is why] most drivers do not carry direct Brikama passengers. It favours ‘gele gele’ drivers, not the van or small car divers,” he said.
He expressed that extending the highway to Brikama would benefit drivers, as travelling to Brikama and back to the turntable would be quicker if the road were free-flowing and wider.
“The poor road condition brings a waste of time because the road is not good, and drivers can’t move fast. From Coastal Road to Serrekunda, most drivers are not using the road because it’s full of portholes. A vehicle does not know how long a distance is, all it knows is good road condition then it will go anywhere you want it to go. All these traffic congestions that we are complaining about are due to poor roads,” Jallow said.
