Trans-Gambia Highway
The Trans-Gambia Highway is an important trunk road in the West African state of Gambia . It runs in a north-south direction. The trunk road continues to the north and south in the neighboring country Senegal as the national road N 4 and is economically very important there as the Transgambienne , as it connects the southern Senegalese Casamance to the rest of the country.
description
The territory of the Gambia, often referred to as the enclave in Senegal, is narrow and elongated. The Gambia separates the tropical region of Casamance from the rest of Senegal. The Trans-Gambia Highway ( 13 ° 30 ′ 59 ″ N , 15 ° 34 ′ 15 ″ W ) as Trans-Gambienne offers the shortest road connection from the cities of Ziguinchor and Bignona in Casamance to the north via Nioro du Rip to Kaolack . In Senegal the street is called " N 4 ". The trunk road crosses the state of Gambia over a length of about 25 km and the Gambia River, which is about 700 meters wide at this point .
course
The Trans-Gambia Highway begins about two kilometers from Farafenni , the largest city in the North Bank Region ; here is the northern border crossing to Senegal. In Farafenni, the Trans-Gambia Highway crosses the North Bank Road , the most important highway in east-west direction on the north bank of the Gambia River. Four kilometers behind Farafenni begins an approximately five-kilometer-wide zone with mangroves that line the river on both sides. The connection to the other bank of the river is provided by the Bamba Tenda – Yeli Tenda ferry service . It is the second most important ferry connection in Gambia after the ferry connection Banjul – Barra .
On the south bank of the river is the city of Soma , the largest city in the Lower River Region . Even before Soma is Mansa Konko , the provincial capital of the Lower River Region. In Soma, the Trans-Gambia Highway crosses the South Bank Road , Gambia's most important trunk road in a west-east direction on the south bank of the Gambia River. About seven kilometers south of Soma is the southern border crossing to Senegal.
history
When the Gambia River Development Organization was founded in 1978, plans to build a bridge dam were developed at this point. These plans are repeatedly raised. That is why there is still no bridge over the Gambia.
In August 2005 the Gambia Ports Authority doubled the prices for the ferry connection; this led to an interstate conflict. Senegalese truckers blocked the border crossings and were more willing to take the long way on significantly worse roads all around Gambia than to pay the ferry price. Even a reduction in price in early October did not completely end the conflict. In the course of the conflict, Senegal's President Abdoulaye Wade threatened , with alleged support from the Republic of China (Taiwan) , to build an approximately 35-kilometer tunnel under the Gambia.
The presidents of Gambia and Senegal, Yahya Jammeh and Abdoulaye Wade, met for the first time since the conflict on October 21, 2005 and were able to reach an agreement on the price and how to proceed. The bridge construction project was once again placed in the foreground.
On June 1, 2012, an agreement was signed with the African Development Bank (AfDB) to finance the bridge construction project in the amount of 96.20 million US dollars in Arusha, Tanzania . A memorandum of understanding was signed between Gambia and Senegal at the beginning of August 2012, and the foundation stone was to be laid in the same month. In April 2018, the construction of the Trans-Gambia Bridge was well advanced. The deadline announced in June 2018 for the completion of the bridge in January 2019 could be met. It was opened to traffic on January 21, 2019 as Senegambia Bridge by the presidents of Gambia and Senegal.
Individual evidence
- ^ Thomas Cook Publishing: Traveler Guides The Gambia 3rd Thomas Cook Pubns, 2011, ISBN 978-1-84848-428-3
- ↑ GAMBIA SENEGAL BORDER IMPASSE RESOLVED AS PRESIDENTS JAMMEH AND WADE CONCLUDE DAKAR SUMMIT Message from the State House dated October 21, 2005
- ↑ Gambia, AfDB sign D2bn Bridge project ( Memento from February 13, 2013 in the web archive archive.today ) The Daily Observer from June 6, 2012
- ^ Gambia, Senegal sign MoU on Trans-Gambia bridge ( Memento from December 15, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) The Daily Observer from August 6, 2012
- ^ Trans-Gambia Bridge Becoming Reality As Work On The Bridge Advances. Article dated December 22, 2017 on Foroyaa.gm
- ↑ Gambia: Trans-Gambia Bridge Inauguration in Januray 2019 - officials told President - Freedom Newspaper . In: Freedom Newspaper . 2018 ( freedomnewspaper.com ).
- ↑ Senegambia Bridge belongs to Gambia: President Sall. In: The Point Newspaper. January 23, 2019, accessed January 28, 2019 .
