By Nelson Manneh
Ebrima Sillah, the Minister of Transport, Works and Infrastructure on Tuesday, 13 February 2024, said some of the frequent accidents happening on the Senegambia Bridge, is due to reckless driving.
He challenged the police to start arresting these reckless drivers and hold them to account for their actions.
Minister Sillah made this statement as his Ministry together with members of the National Roads Authority (NRA) and other stakeholders, embarked on a nationwide tour of ongoing road construction works at various sites within the country. The delegation visited the road that connects Njau-Sawalo and Carols Wharf village in the Central River Region / North; Lamin koto to Yona road; Karantaba to Reneeu; Tabanani to Demfaye and Jaaga to Fitu Fulla roads, all in CRR North. The team also visited the Manneh Kunda / Gambasarra road in the Upper River Region of the Gambia.
According to Mr Sillah, if the guardrails along the Senegambia bridge were not strong, drivers would have been plunging their vehicles into the river. He said such reckless accidents causes unnecessary expenditure for Government and that drivers engaged in the act should be held accountable for the repairs of all the damages they cause. He urges the authorities of the NRA to quickly fix the damaged guardrails at the Senegambia bridge.
On the Njau-Sawalo and Carol-Wharf road in Central River Region/North which is still under construction, Minister Sillah said he is delighted with the speed at which the work is going.
“There is significant progress in all the roads we have visited today, and if the contractors continue to work at this pace, most of the roads will be completed and inaugurated before the end of this year,” he said.
The Chief Designer of ‘Cornerstone’ Construction Company, one of the companies contracted for the construction of the road between Njau-Sawalo to Carol-Wharf village road in CRR North, Jonas Agyemang, said they are doing all they can to ensure that the said road is well constructed and delivered on time.
“We keep adjusting the initial design of the road because we have realised that some areas along the road are swampy and therefore needs special designing to make sure that it serves long,” he said.
Adama Bah of Jaaga village in CRR North said the new road under construction will ease their movement from their village to the main highway.
“We have been yearning for this kind of development to reach us because we have suffered a lot. Sometimes pregnant women deliver on the road whilst struggling to reach the nearest health facility. But with this new development, the movement of both people and their goods will be easily facilitated,” he said. He said the road when completed, will ease access to health facilities and the transportation of their farm produce from their village to the market.
“We have been neglected for many years now but we are happy to see the ongoing construction of this road,” he said.
