Senegal Road Network

About 90% of movements of people and goods in Senegal are made via roads. The roads network is estimated at about 14,500 km, of which 4,500 km are paved. In fact, it is now possible from Dakar to reach any of the other ten Senegalese main regional cities by  paved road. The Government of Senegal has launched an ambitious programme aimed at rehabilitating certain roads and building new ones. However, as in many other African countries, road maintenance is a recurrent problem.

For Senegal government contacts, please see the following link: 4.1 Senegal Government Contact List

Distance Matrix

Travel Time Matrix

Road Security

Security Level: Good

No security problems in general but for the Cassamance region. There, some road segments are not authorised for usage by UN staff due to the presence of active rebel groups. So in Cassamance, it is better to avoid segment of road N5 from Séléti to Bignona and N4 from Ziguinchor to Sao Domingos in Guinee Bissau. See UNDSS for more information if you plan to travel in the region. Drivers tend to exceed speed limits, follow other vehicles closely, ignore lane markings, and attempt to pass even when facing oncoming traffic.

Some roads have sidewalks or sufficient space for pedestrian traffic, others do not, and pedestrians are forced to walk in or along the roadway. Due to limited street lighting, pedestrians are difficult to see at night. Drivers in both rural and urban areas may frequently expect to encounter and share the road with motorcycles, bicyclists, pedestrians, livestock and animal carts. Caution and defensive driving techniques are strongly recommended. During the rainy season, many roads, mostly regional roads, departmental roads and tracks are passable only with four-wheel drive vehicles and so places are just not accessible at all.

Weighbridges and Axle Load Limits

As the majority of heavy vehicle traffic in Senegal has its origin and destination in Dakar, and more specifically the Port of Dakar, an effective way to control overloading would be to weigh all heavy vehicles leaving and entering the Port of Dakar. It was therefore recommended that negotiations be entered into with the Port Authority to establish weighbridges at the main entrances to the port.

These weighbridges would be used for overload law enforcement and should comply with all the requirements in terms of facilities, equipment, type of scale, computer equipment, software, and holding facilities. The existing weighbridge at one of the port entrances, which is currently used for commercial purposes, could be upgraded to a multi-deck scale and be used for law enforcement in addition to its current function. However, the logistics of the weighing activities would have to be analysed to ensure that undue delays are not caused.

There is an ongoing project of the State to build 6 fixed weighbridges stations in the country, Diamniodio, Tanabcounda, Thies, Kidira and Rosso. The works has to be done by 2014.  For now there is 3 mobile weighbridges installed around the country, one at Dakar Port, one in Tambacounda and one in Diamniodio. Senegal Government revised the axle load limit in line with the ECOWAS specifications but there are not enough weighbridges in the country, hence vehicles still exceed allowable limits. The maximum axle load restriction applicable in the ECOWAS Region is 11.5 tons. Sanctions are applicable by the regulation 14-2005/UEMOA , in case of transgression of the authorized limits. But so far, the government doesn't have the means to control all the traffic.

Road Class and Surface Conditions

Road Classification

For additional information on Senegal road class, surface conditions, bridges and networks, please see attached document: Senegal Road Network Additional Information

Note: The information provided in the attached document, which has been taken from the old LCA, does not match the structure of the new LCA and is therefore provided separately.