Douala Access Roads:Gov’t Takes Measures To Curb Persistent Hold-up

Circulation on the east entrance to the port city of Douala has been made easy by measures government has taken to curb the persistent traffic jam on the road.

Vehicles plying the DoualaNdjamena corridor now have a possibility of passing through an 18km makeshift road created on the east entrance to Douala.

The hold-up on the road was exacerbated by the fact that road users were allowed to circulate on the axis simultaneously with construction works.

The east entrance already enlarged up to Tradex Yassa is expected to be expanded and extended further right up to the Dibamba River.

The poor state of the road, coupled with construction works on the other exit from the city towards the Center Region through Nyalla, obliged all vehicles to go through the Village-Yassa road, worsening hold up for road users.

The FCFA 34 billion-worth construction works which the Minister of Public Works, Emmanuel Nganou Djoumessi suspended due to perceived shortcomings on the part of the construction company in charge, is part of a greater initiative taken by government to ease traffic in the economic capital. The initiative consists of broadening and extending the east and west entrances of the city.

It is within the framework of the project that a new bridge was constructed over the Wouri River and the West entrance enlarged and extended to Bekoko junction towards the West and South West regions. Besides the creation of a deviation from the overcrowded main road to facilitate circulation; the movement of heavy duty trucks along the east entrance has also been restricted.

The restriction by Joseph Bertrand Mache, Senior Divisional Officer for Wouri on instruction from the Governor of the Littoral Region, will be enforced till August 31; though it may be renewed or curtailed if necessary.

According to the order, trucks carrying all forms of cargo are prohibited from plying the stretch along the Yaounde-Douala highway between 5am to 9pm. Trucks of security forces or of companies executing public contracts along the National Road No. 3, are however exempted from the ban.