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MADINA WANDIFA, Senegal — Though nonetheless sweaty and drained after his lengthy journey, the long-distance truck driver was upbeat as he watched staff unload lots of of containers of butter from his truck onto the pavement of a busy metropolis avenue in southern Senegal.
The driving force, Cheikh Oumar Tamba, had just one extra cease to make, simply two days after loading his truck with slabs of butter within the capital, Dakar. That, although, wasn’t the one cause for his good temper.
This drive used to take for much longer. However with the development of a towering bridge throughout the Gambia River, one of many area’s largest site visitors bottlenecks is now gone — a tangible instance of the optimistic affect that much-needed infrastructure tasks are having on individuals’s lives in West Africa.
Earlier than the Senegambia Bridge was inaugurated three years in the past, lots of of truck drivers shifting items south from Dakar would wish to line up for a ferry, typically ready days to cross. Fruit would rot. Milk delivered by Mr. Tamba would go rancid. Ambulances would stay caught within the mile-long line.
“We used to must bribe the ferry people to cross quicker,” stated Mr. Tamba, 45, who has been cruising West African roads for a dozen years. “That bridge has made our lives a lot simpler.”
Additionally, ferries would function throughout daylight solely, reducing the north from the south when darkness fell.
“It didn’t matter what sort of emergency you had at night time, it was not possible to cross,” stated Ousman Gajigo, an economist on the Africa Growth Financial institution who grew up in Gambia.
The ferries could possibly be harmful, whether or not crossing the Gambia or as a substitute going by the ocean on routes that linked coastal ports within the south with Dakar. In 2002, one ferry, the Joola, capsized within the Atlantic, killing greater than 1,800 individuals.
The dearth of bridges straddling the Gambia River had additionally exacerbated a way of regional divide, with residents of the southern Casamance area, Senegal’s meals basket, blaming the federal government in Dakar for retaining them disconnected from the remainder of the nation. Earlier this yr, separatist rebels within the south signed a peace cope with the federal government, bringing hope {that a} 40-year, slow-burning battle — one of many longest in Africa — might lastly finish.
The ferry crossing itself is just not in Senegal however in Gambia, a skinny strip of a rustic, stretching from the Atlantic Ocean to almost 200 miles inland, that splits Senegal into northern and southern elements.
Gambia’s former strongman president, Yahya Jammeh, had lengthy refused to construct a bridge throughout his 22-year rule, utilizing his nation’s geographical place as a supply of leverage towards its greater neighbor. Solely after Mr. Jammeh was forced into exile 5 years in the past did the long-delayed development venture kick off, and in 2019, the presidents of Gambia and Senegal traveled throughout the bridge in the identical automobile.
For a toll of about $7.50, a visit as soon as measured in days now takes minutes.
Within the southern Senegalese metropolis of Madina Wandifa, not removed from the Gambian border, Abdoul Aziz Faye was resting on the facet of the highway whereas his boss ran some errands. That they had delivered medicines from Dakar to Guinea-Bissau, and had been about to drive again north over the bridge.
“Dwelling tonight, hopefully,” the 25-year-old driver stated about Dakar, an E.T.A. that may have been unthinkable a number of years in the past.
It’s not simply the truckers who’ve benefited.
“I can depart this morning, drop passengers on the opposite facet of Senegal, and be again by 2 p.m. to have lunch with my spouse,” stated Samba Diop, ready for his minibus to fill at a bus station in Kaolack, the final Senegalese hub earlier than the northern Gambian border.
Many individuals in Gambia and the encompassing areas of Senegal stay off the manufacturing of groundnuts, rice and greens, however the lack of dependable transport infrastructure that might hyperlink farms to markets had saved most of them in poverty, in line with the African Growth Financial institution, which financed the development of the $67 million bridge.
In October final yr, the Gambian authorities inaugurated a second, smaller bridge within the japanese a part of the nation, financed by China.
For all of the progress the Senegambia Bridge has introduced, the journey south is just not with out its bumps, each literal and metaphorical, with the peaceable river flowing by way of mangrove swamps and salt flats simply one of many many obstacles on the highway.
In Gambia, the place many look forward to the authorities to prosecute these accused of committing wide-ranging atrocities underneath Mr. Jammeh’s rule, there have been not less than 5 checkpoints on a 15-mile journey from border to frame.
And after Gambia? “That’s one other story,” stated Mr. Diop, the minibus driver.
Though President Macky Sall of Senegal has carried out main infrastructure tasks within the north, critics say the south has been uncared for, with its horrible roads a major instance.
As quickly as these touring south cross again into Senegal from Gambia, 1000’s of potholes littering the highway await, as if armies of moles had turned Casamance into their private playground. The 90-mile journey from the border to Ziguinchor, the primary metropolis within the Casamance area, is an ordeal that may take half a day.
“Higher roads should be on Senegal’s agenda now,” Mr. Diop stated.
Regardless of the advantages the bridge has introduced, its constructing has additionally devastated the livelihoods of those that as soon as lived off the lots of of idling autos, and their hungry, thirsty and bored passengers.
On a current afternoon on the river’s edge beneath the bridge, Lamarana Diallo was ready for his first consumer of the day. Nobody had but stopped to sip on his ataya, Senegalese mint tea. A father of 4, Mr. Diallo used to make round $30 on a typical day, however now he stated he was fortunate if he earned $1.50.
The place as soon as there have been lots of of fellow distributors promoting garments, sweets and meals, there are actually solely two left.
By the river’s pier, the few retailers and ticket places of work have been deserted. A dozen Gambian navy personnel had been stationed there, chain smoking, consuming thieboudienne, Senegal’s nationwide dish of fish and rice, and chatting about soccer.
The Senegambia Bridge is open 24/7, however the job defending it’s “chill,” stated Sgt. Lamin Badjie, the construction hovering over the barracks. Within the typically sophisticated relationship between Senegal and Gambia, it was a welcome new connection between the 2 nations, Sergeant Badjie stated.
Citing the ethnic teams he and comrades belonged to — Serer, Soninke, Mandinka, teams that additionally populate Senegal — Sergeant Badjie stated concerning the bridge, “It makes us extra united. We’re the identical individuals.”
Omar Ndaw, a 36-year-old undercover Gambian police officer, stated the bridge helped him navigate extra easily within the areas he patrols. A surge in trafficking of counterfeit diazepam, a drug used to deal with anxiousness and alcohol withdrawal, has saved him busy this yr.
“Let’s simply say the bridge helps everybody — me, and the group,” Mr. Ndaw stated earlier than beginning off in his used crimson Nissan.
A minute later, his automobile was out of sight on the bridge. He had crossed the river.
Mady Camara contributed reporting.
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