Lagos-Mombasa Highway - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Lagos
Lagos
Lagos is a port and the most populous conurbation in Nigeria. With a population of 7,937,932, it is currently the third most populous city in Africa after Cairo and Kinshasa, and currently estimated to be the second fastest growing city in Africa...

-Mombasa
Mombasa
Mombasa is the second-largest city in Kenya. Lying next to the Indian Ocean, it has a major port and an international airport. The city also serves as the centre of the coastal tourism industry....

Highway (also known as the Mombasa-Lagos Highway) is Trans-African Highway 8 and is principal road route between West

West Africa

West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. Geopolitically, the UN definition of Western Africa includes the following 16 countries and an area of approximately 5 million square km:-Flags of West Africa:...

and East Africa

East Africa

East Africa or Eastern Africa is the easterly region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. In the UN scheme of geographic regions, 19 territories constitute Eastern Africa:...

. It has a length of 6259 km and is contiguous with the Dakar-Lagos Highway with which it will form (when complete) the longest east-west crossing of the continent for a total distance of 10,269 km.

Route

Part of the transcontinental

Transcontinental

The fourth largest print media group in Canada, with more than 3,000 employees and annual revenues of $608 million in 2010, TC. Transcontinental reaches, through its multiplatform offering, over 18 million consumers across Canada...

road

Road

A road is a thoroughfare, route, or way on land between two places, which typically has been paved or otherwise improved to allow travel by some conveyance, including a horse, cart, or motor vehicle. Roads consist of one, or sometimes two, roadways each with one or more lanes and also any...

network under development by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa

United Nations Economic Commission for Africa

The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa was established in 1958 by the United Nations Economic and Social Council to encourage economic cooperation among its member states following a recommendation of the United Nations General Assembly.It is one of five regional commissions.The ECA...

(UNECA), the African Development Bank

African Development Bank

The African Development Bank Group is a development bank established in 1964 with the intention of promoting economic and social development in Africa...

(ADB), and the African Union

African Union

The African Union is a union consisting of 54 African states. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established on 9 July 2002, the AU was formed as a successor to the Organisation of African Unity...

, the route crosses Nigeria

Nigeria

Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...

, Cameroon

Cameroon

Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon , is a country in west Central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo to the south. Cameroon's coastline lies on the...

, Central African Republic

Central African Republic

The Central African Republic , is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It borders Chad in the north, Sudan in the north east, South Sudan in the east, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of the Congo in the south, and Cameroon in the west. The CAR covers a land area of about ,...

, Democratic Republic of the Congo

Democratic Republic of the Congo

The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a state located in Central Africa. It is the second largest country in Africa by area and the eleventh largest in the world...

, Uganda

Uganda

Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...

, and Kenya

Kenya

Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...

Crossing the Congo River basin

Although the highway carries much traffic on its paved sections in Nigeria, Cameroon, Uganda and Kenya, at present it is not a practical route between West and East since the central section across the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Democratic Republic of the Congo

The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a state located in Central Africa. It is the second largest country in Africa by area and the eleventh largest in the world...

consists only of tracks impassable after the frequent heavy rain. Rainforest and the need for frequent river crossings present huge challenges to road engineers. With no easy alternative routes, east-west trade has to go via air or sea and is consequently severely limited.

The highway was considered to run from Bangassou

Bangassou

Bangassou is a city in the south eastern Central African Republic, lying on the north bank of the Mbomou River. It has a population of 24,447 and is the capital of the Mbomou prefecture. It is known for its wildlife and its market and is linked by ferry to the Democratic Republic of Congo on the...

in the Central African Republic

Central African Republic

to Buta

Buta

Buta is a town and seat of Buta Territory in the northern Democratic Republic of Congo, lying on the Rubi River, a tributary of the Itimbiri River. It is headquarters of the Bas-Uele District, Orientale Province...

in DR Congo via Bondo, but after the Congo Civil War

Congo Civil War

Congo Civil War may refer to:* In the Kingdom of Kongo:**Kongo Civil War * In the Republic of the Congo :**Republic of the Congo Civil War...

s, the tracks between those towns are impassable. The DR Congo advises that the track from Zongo

Zongo

Zongo is a city in Sud-Ubangi Province in the northwestern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo, lying on the south bank of the Ubangi River, across from Bangui in the Central African Republic...

(across the river from Bangui

Bangui

-Law and government:Bangui is an autonomous commune of the Central African Republic. With an area of 67 km², it is by far the smallest high-level administrative division of the CAR in area but the highest in population...

) via Gemena

Gemena

Gemena is a town and capital of the Sud-Ubangi District of Equateur Province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.The town has a large airport.Mobutu Sese Seko's mother, Mama Yemo, died in Gemena in 1971; a vast mausoleum was built in her memory....

, Lisala

Lisala

Lisala is the capital of Mongala District, in northwestern Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is located at around . The Congo River flows through the city. It is best known as the birthplace of Mobutu Sese Seko, who ruled Zaire from 1965 to 1997....

and Bumba

Bumba

Bumba can refer to:*Bumba, Democratic Republic of the Congo, a town on the Congo River.*Bumba , a crater on Rhea.*Bumba , the supreme deity of the Bushongo people.*Bumba , a free slave group which controlled an enclave of Cuba....

to Buta is a higher priority for rehabilitation, and would recommend that alternative.

In eastern DR Congo, the route goes from Kisangani

Kisangani

Kisangani is the capital of Orientale Province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is the 3rd largest urbanized city in the country and the largest of the cities that lie in the tropical woodlands of the Congo....

to the Uganda

Uganda

n border post at Katwe via Kamanda and Beni

Beni

Beni may refer to:Places*Beni Department, Beni River and the Beni savanna, Bolivia*Beni Suef and Beni Hasan, Egypt*Beni Mellal and Beni Amir, Morocco*Beni, Nord-Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo*Beni, Nepal Culture...

. This earth track is also frequently impassable. The longer route from Kisangani to the Rwanda

Rwanda

Rwanda or , officially the Republic of Rwanda , is a country in central and eastern Africa with a population of approximately 11.4 million . Rwanda is located a few degrees south of the Equator, and is bordered by Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo...

border at Bukavu

Bukavu

Bukavu is a city in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo , lying at the extreme south-eastern extent of Lake Kivu, west of Cyangugu in Rwanda, and separated from it by the outlet of the Ruzizi River. It is the capital of the Sud-Kivu province and as of 2009 it had an estimated population of...

using DR Congo National Road No. 2 may be preferable as the road is partly paved, though since the war it has not been in use south of Walikale.

From Bukavu a paved highway reaches Kigali

Kigali

Kigali, population 965,398 , is the capital and largest city of Rwanda. It is situated near the geographic centre of the nation, and has been the economic, cultural, and transport hub of Rwanda since it became capital at independence in 1962. The main residence and offices of the President of...

(Rwanda

Rwanda

) and connects to the existing route at Mbarara

Mbarara

Mbarara is a town in Western Uganda. It is the main municipal, administrative and commercial center of Mbarara District and the location of the district headquarters. It is also the largest urban centre in Western Uganda.-Location:...

in Uganda.

Great Lakes region and eastern section

The Lagos–Mombasa Highway's eastern section has been paved for several decades and is the principal highway between the African Great Lakes

African Great Lakes

The African Great Lakes are a series of lakes and the Rift Valley lakes in and around the geographic Great Rift Valley formed by the action of the tectonic East African Rift on the continent of Africa...

region and the sea.

The highway from Bujumbura

Bujumbura

-Education:The University of Burundi is located in Bujumbura.Hope Africa University is located in BujumburaUniversité du Lac Tanganyika is located in Bujumbura-External links:**...

(Burundi

Burundi

Burundi , officially the Republic of Burundi , is a landlocked country in the Great Lakes region of Eastern Africa bordered by Rwanda to the north, Tanzania to the east and south, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west. Its capital is Bujumbura...

) through Kigali to Mbarara can also be considered a feeder road connecting land-locked Burundi and Rwanda to the sea at Mombasa.

Since transport across the DR Congo is severely limited, the eastern section is also the principal road trade route for the central-eastern and north-eastern part of that country. In the aftermath of the Second Congo War, aid agencies and charities ship relief supplies there along the highway.

The eastern section is probably the origin of the term 'Kinshasa Highway

Kinshasa Highway

The Kinshasa Highway is an informal name for route across the Democratic Republic of the Congo into Uganda and beyond, consisting of paved highways in some places and seasonally impassable tracks in others. The name has gained currency for the role which long-distance truck drivers played in the...

', a metaphor for the spread of AIDS/HIV in Africa along trade routes, which has been researched along the highway in Uganda and Kenya. Some sources mistakenly describe the Kinshasa Highway as a real paved road between Uganda and Kinshasa

Kinshasa

Kinshasa is the capital and largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The city is located on the Congo River....

, but there has never been more than rough bush tracks across DR Congo between east and west.

The eastern section of the Lagos–Mombasa Highway is also the only part of the whole network where the name 'Trans-African Highway' is in common use and is seen on a few road signs.

Route

Crossing the Congo River basin

Great Lakes region and eastern section

See also