Emmanuel Nganou Djoumessi, Cameroon’s minister of public works, has lunched construction works on the Bamenda-Babadjou stretch, a road which has been a nightmare to users over the years.

In the bid to connect the country and save commuters from the “death trap”, Minister Emmanuel Nganou Djoumesssi unveiled the road project in Santa sub division, 35km from Babadjou in the presence of the secretary of state at the ministry of public works, Louis Max Ayina.

Journal du Cameroun learnt that the World Bank is funding the project with F CFA 60.7 Billion. According to a press release signed by minister Djoumessi, construction works will entail the building of a 5km round-about track at the Bamenda entrance cliff and a 12km urban section in the city of Bamenda.

The release also states that there will be the constructions of facilities such a weighing station, two rest areas, a toll station, markets, several portable water systems as well as the tarring of 50km of secondary roads to open up farming areas.

The Babadjou-Bamenda stretch has been a source of public anger for many years. Last  two years, it became so impassable that Babadjou people went on a rampage. They demonstrated and ignited a free-for-all cursing of the authorities.

Equally, the country’s opposition Chieftain, John Fru Ndi, had stormed the road and sent away workers at the toll gate at Matazem near Santa. The stretch that the World Bank will rehabilitate is part of the Yaounde-Bafoussam-Bamenda highway that is noted for road accidents. It causes 11 percent of road accidents leading to 16 percent of deaths registered on Cameroonian roads.

With its reconstruction now ongoing, and the World Bank’s intervention, many believe traffic flow will be improved as well as contribute to the development of the local socio-economic infrastructure of the nearby residents.