This 114-km expressway connects Touba, Senegal’s second largest city, with the existing highway network in Thiès, on the perimeter of Dakar, the country’s dominant urban area. The four-lane tolled highway was designed to conform with French codes and standards. By significantly reducing travel times, the road will accelerate economic development and tourism, the project team says. The route was selected to pass close to major industrial areas while reserving space for future urban development.

Obtaining acceptable quality building materials proved to be one of the project’s greatest challenges. “Given the frequent fluctuations in the properties of cement and asphalt from different manufacturers, each batch of materials was tested before being used to make sure it met regulatory requirements,” says Tang Hao, a supervisor with contractor China Road and Bridge Corp. Non-plastic fine sand was added into the laterite gravel to improve the mix performance and to prevent shrinking and cracking, given the hot climate. The workforce peaked at 5,000, of which 88% were from Senegal, 10% from China and the remainder from Togo, France, Tunisia and Syria.

China Road and Bridge Corp. practiced community outreach by using its construction machinery to carry out local water supply projects, and also sponsored several Senegalese students to study in China.

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