Trans-Sahelian Highway


The Trans-Sahelian Highway or Trans-Sahel Highway 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.

Route and status

Overall features, length and condition

The Trans-Sahelian Highway has a length of about running through Senegal, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Nigeria, and the far northern tip of Cameroon, ending at Ndjamena just inside the western border of Chad. All but about, 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 :
Alternative routes at the eastern end:
The Trans-Sahelian Highway intersects with the following Trans-African Highways:
The northern regions of Guinea, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, and Benin are close to the Trans-Sahelian Highway, which may be used to by travellers between those regions in preference to the Trans–West African Coastal Highway further south. Paved roads connect the Trans-Sahelian and West African Coastal Highways through