Commercial Taxi Falls Into Ditch in Highway under Construction

413

By Nelson Manneh

A commercial taxi is said to have fallen into the Bundung highway ditch that was dug by contractor of this OIC road project under construction. The incident is said to have occurred on the night of Wednesday 25th January 2023, when the driver was reportedly said to have been avoiding another vehicle.

Eyewitnesses indicate that due to the size of what is left of the road, driving on it remains a risk especially when two vehicles meet, because the ditches dug has narrowed the size of the road.

Sulayman Jammeh, the National Assembly Member for Bundung who visited the scene, said the pace of ongoing construction works along the Bundung highway is slow, and said the contractor should label the roadside with danger signs and reflectors for night travellers, to avoid such accidents. He urged that the contractor can advance in the pace of his work, as we approach the summer rains, which is just a few months away from now.

Lamin Dampha, a taxi driver who frequently plies the Bundung highway, said the authorities should fast-track the ongoing construction of the road.

He said it would have been better for the road to be left the way it was rather than start the construction only to delay the process.

At the time of going to the press, this reporter contacted the owner of the vehicle that fell in the ditch for comments on how the incident happened, but he could not be reached.