Monrovia — The Liberian Investigator has counted over 470 potholes in Monrovia and Paynesville, confirming the deplorable condition of roads in two of Liberia's major cities. The deplorable condition is taking a massive toll on road users, including private and commercial drivers as well as tricyclists and motorcyclists who are calling for quick intervention by the government.
To record the hundreds of potholes, The Liberian Investigator embarked on a three-part road assessment. The tour involved documenting major potholes in parts of the two cities and getting feedback from road users about the predicaments of bad roads.
The administration of Joseph N. Baokai massively campaign on the issue of road infrastructure as part of the much-heralded ARREST Agenda. However, critics say not much has been done for this Agenda to fully manifest. And with the deterioration of major roads in Liberia's major cities, concerns are swirling about immediate actions now that the administration is experiencing its first dry season.
Monrovia: A City of Over 81 Potholes
During the two-day documentation of potholes from Friday, October 18 to 19, 2024, over 81 potholes were captured on major streets and intersections in Monrovia. The Via Town to St. Paul Bridge route was not covered considering it has fully deteriorated.
One massive pothole each was found at the intersection of Broad and Gurley Streets and the Carey and Gurley Streets interceptions; two at the interception of Benson and Gurley, four counted at Gurley Street and UN Drive, one at Benson and Randall Streets interception.
Twenty (21) potholes were found on Newport Street while a major pothole was found at Newport Street and Sekou Tourey Avenue. Eight potholes were counted at the Randall Street and UN Drive intersection, four (4) at Gurley Street and UN Drive, and 16 at Center Street and UN Drive intersection.
Four potholes were seen at the intersection of Lynch and Benson Streets, five at the interception of Benson and Buchanan Streets, one at Ashmun and Nelson Streets interception, four on Mechlin Street, and 12 at the intersection of Camp Junction Road and Redemption Road.
Sinkor Avenues Covered with Potholes
The documentation of potholes continued outside downtown Monrovia, where over 200 potholes were counted along the Jallah Town Road, the Township of Sinkor, and to the Nigeria House via Old Road. During the second phase of our tour, twenty-six (26) potholes were captured between Jallah Town, the Capitol By-Pass, and Fiama Community, while another twenty-six (26) potholes were recorded between Jallah Town and the landside of 9th Street in Sinkor.
There were several potholes found along the avenues on the landside of Sinkor. Amongst these are major potholes on 15th and 18th Streets, eight (8) were counted on 9th Street, and nine on 20th Street. At the same time, twelve (12) potholes were captured on the Airfield Road between Shark Business Center and Vamoma House.
We further recorded seventy-two (72) potholes between the Executive Car Wash at Old Road junction through Old Road Market to Nigeria House.
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Congo Town, Paynesville City Swamped with Potholes
During the third phase of the tour, we recorded about 236 potholes along the Congo Town backroad, SKD Boulevard, GSA Road, SD Cooper Road, and other parts of Paynesville.
Forty-three (43) potholes were counted along the Congo Town Back Road, 81 between SKD Boulevard Junction and 72nd Community, and 42 potholes were counted specifically between SKD Boulevard and Police Academy.
For GSA Road, 37 potholes were counted between GSA Road Junction and the Rehab Community while 33 were found on the SD Cooper Road.
Road Users Feeling the Burn
Amid the bad road conditions across the city, road users are urging the Ministry of Public Works to begin immediate work to avert further deterioration.
"You just saw me driving on the GSA Road here and potholes are along the route. We are the main users of the road and every time we have to rush to the store to purchase tires because the bad road continues to spoil our tires," said Padmore Brooks, an owner of a private vehicle.
Brooks stressed the urgent need to rehabilitate the route leading to the president's residence, adding that the current condition is a misrepresentation of the presidency.
Kromah Suahibu, a taxi driver who runs between downtown Monrovia and ELWA Junction, says bad roads caused a heavy burden for commercial drivers.
"We don't only take our vehicles to the garage, but we also visit the tire shop because at times when you get in a hole that is covered by water, we often experience burst tires and this compels us to buy a new one immediately," he said.
"We're appealing to the government of Liberia to solve these problems that we continue to face on these major roads; when they're fixed properly, it will reduce our financial burden and also keep our cars in a better state."
And Prosper Cooper, a motorcyclist plying along the Bushrod Island route, claims that the government is insensitive to the plight of road users because of the delay in rehabilitating major routes with potholes.
"This appears like we are just hustling to purchase spoiled tires and service our motorbikes due to the potholes," Cooper said.
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Meanwhile, Minister of Public Works, Lafayette Roland Giddings stated in late September, 2024 when he appeared on the Super Morning Show on the state broadcaster, ELBC that the government could not do major renovation works on those major roads in the city due delay in passing the 2024 national budget in May.
The Public Works Minister said the passage of the 2024 National Budget in May, coinciding with the rainy season, has prevented his team from making further developmental efforts on those damaged roads until the dry season.
Giddings also accused the former Weah-Taylor administration of wrongfully diverting 60 percent of the National Road Fund (NRF) to community road construction while neglecting maintenance of major roads over the last six years. He believes the ministry would have faced a lesser burden had the CDC regime maintained those corridors.
"The last government [the CDC administration], I'm sorry to say, neglected maintenance of all these corridors for the last six years and only focused on building new community roads," Minister Giddings asserted.
He also blamed disadvantaged youth, otherwise referred to as 'zogoes,' for undermining the efforts of the Ministry of Public Works by selling the very crush rocks used for road maintenance in communities, noting that the government cannot continue investing in these materials without adequate financial resources.
