Trans-Sahelian Highway

The Trans-Sahelian Highway or TAH 5 is a transnational highway project to pave, improve and ease border formalities on a highway route through the southern fringes of the Sahel region in West Africa between Dakar, Senegal in the west and Ndjamena, Chad, in the east. Alternative names for the highway are the Dakar-Ndjamena Highway or Ndjamena-Dakar Highway and it is Trans-African Highway 5 in the Trans-African Highway network.

The highway passes through seven countries and five national capitals, and links regions of similar climate and environment which have cultural and trade links going back centuries. It is one of two east–west transnational links in West Africa and runs inland from and, for most of its length, roughly parallel to the Trans–West African Coastal Highway with a separation of about 900 km (559 mi).

Route and status

Overall features, length and condition

The Trans-Sahelian Highway has a length of about 4,500 km (2,800 mi) running through Senegal, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Nigeria, and the far northern tip of Cameroon, ending at N'Djamena just inside the western border of Chad. All but about 775 km (482 mi), mostly in western Mali, has been paved, but extensive sections elsewhere require rehabilitation or are currently under reconstruction. Most of the route uses existing national highways, but an optional route requires construction of a completely new road between Senegal and Mali.

Detail of sections

The cities and countries served, and status of the road are as follows (going east):

In Senegal, Dakar to Tambacounda, 462 km (287 mi), paved, 315 km (196 mi) in poor condition; this road has been paved for several decades.

Linking Senegal and Mali between Tambacounda and Bamako, two options were proposed in the 2005 consultants' report

a shorter more direct southern route via Saraya, Senegal and Kita, about 825 km (513 mi), using about 300 km (186 mi) of road paved in the 1990s of which most was in good condition, and requiring construction of 345 km (214 mi) of new road and the paving of 180 km (112 mi) of earth road;

and longer northern route of about 910 km (565 mi) via Kayes, Diéma, Mali and Didieni, utilising national roads of Mali which are paved.

In south-eastern Mail, Bamako to Sikasso via Bougouni – 374 km (232 mi), paved before 1990 and in fair condition.