By: Frank P. Martin
MONROVIA: Vai Town-Duala road on Bushrod Island has become almost impassible, traffic-prone and dangerous for both passengers and drivers due to its bad condition.
Despite reports by the Boakai-Koung government that Roads in rural parts of the country are being reconditioned, road users and residents of the Via Town- Duala corridor continue to decry the bad condition of the road.
The Vai Town Duala Route is considered the nation’s commercial hub with several vehicles, including trucks using the road for transportation of basic commodities, especially petroleum products, rice among others.
Major government’s entities, including the Free Port of Monrovia, Liberia Petroleum Refinery Corporation (LPRC), National Fisheries and Aquaculture Authority, etc. are all situated along the deplorable road which poses dangers to humans, especially during raining days and nights.
Road users and residents who spoke to our reporter on Monday, July 8, 2024, expressed concern and frustration about the deplorable condition of the road and raised safety issues, complaining that the heavy down pour of rain has added a ‘salt-to-injury’ as the government is yet to positively intervene.
Recent torrential rainfalls in Monrovia and its environs caused coastal and river basin flooding. The situation affected hundreds of communities.
The Vai Town Duala corridor, which begins from Gabriel Tucker Bridge to the St. Paul bridge, is about 9km, according an estimate by a road expert.
Many users of the Vai Town- Duala road say they see no effort by President Joseph Nyuma Boakai and his government that consider road construction and rehabilitation as a top priority, to begin rehabilitation works on the road.
Musa V. Kamara, Chief Driver of the Federation of Road Transport Union of Liberia (FRTUL) Montserrado County Chapter, acknowledges that the Vai Town- Duala route is a serious impediment to road users, especially drivers who struggle to access the road freely.
“I use to spend few minutes traveling to Duala some years back, but now, it takes more time to travel from Vai Town to Duala,” taxi driver Melvin Johnson told the Independent newspaper.
Sekou Keita, a “Yellow Bus” driver said that before, it took him about 20 minutes to travel Johnson Street via the Vai Town to Barnesville Johnson, but now, due to the deplorable condition of the road, it takes nearly two hours. This is because of the massive potholes and bad drainage conditions along the road.
“We’re suffering every day to transport passengers because of this road condition. The government will have to come in to help us because our car parts are damaging every day. We can’t continue this till September. This is the only job some of us can do to support our families,” Siaffa Tamba, a bus driver, narrated.
“There is a need for reconditioning of the road because the heavy-duty trucks are using the corridor to transport petroleum, rice, cement, among others to other parts of the country,” explains Sayee Toe, a resident of Freeport Community.
“As you can see, the road is very bad. The drainage conditions are not good because some people throw dirt into it, while others constructed houses and stores in waterways. We need good company that will overhaul this road for easy access,” Sarah Kollie, a resident of Point-4 Community, expressed.
Kollie called on President Joseph Nyuma Boakai and government to also pay attention to the Vai Town Duala route before it turns into a “death trap” in the coming months.
“If the government fixes this road at this time, it will be good for us as citizens. We can’t continue on this path as residents of this community that use this road to go to town to hustle for daily bread. There is need for the government to move in and start rehabilitation works,” Sarah Kollie added.
There have been several reported incidents of injury along the road.
The Boakai-Koung administration has not responded to the Vai Town-Duala road condition despite many calls on Public Works Ministry to make prompt intervention in order to alleviate the suffering and constraint citizens are going through.
