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After years of hard work and setbacks the hill side bye pass road has been finally completed for use by the general public.
It could be recalled that the visibility studies, design, funding and payment of affected property owners for the construction of the road was done by the late President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah.This project was so close to his heart that he always mentioned it in most of his nationwide addresses.
In his handing over speech, he said “Funding has also been secured for the construction of the four-lane Hillside Bye-Pass Road which will run behind Pademba Road Prison, along the hillside below Fourah Bay College and exit behind Kissy Road Cemetery at the New Kissy Bye-Pass Road. This will decongest traffic in the main east-west axis in Freetown”.
According to Opec Fund website 2004 reports, https://opecfund.org/operations/list/hillside-bypass-road-project
𝐇𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐁𝐲𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐬 𝐑𝐨𝐚𝐝 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐒𝐢𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐚 𝐋𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐞.
Although roads are the main form of transportation in Sierra Leone, the majority are in poor condition, making travel slow and expensive. The situation is particularly acute in the capital Freetown, especially in the central business district. The project will thus build an east-west bypass to divert traffic from the city center. This will entail:
• construction of a new, four-lane, 3.7 km-long paved road;
• installation of culverts and drainage works to prevent flooding;
• provision of fencing, guard rails, traffic signs and pavement markings.
With some 17,500 vehicles expected to use the bypass daily, Freetown’s many commuters will benefit from quicker, easier access to the city.
A report of Concord Times dated: 𝟏𝟑 𝐒𝐄𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐌𝐁𝐄𝐑 𝟐𝟎𝟎𝟔 reads:
“Freetown — Managing Director of Sierra Leone Roads Authority (SLRA), Alhaji Ibrahim Kebbay Thursday disclosed that construction of the hillside by-pass road, (Pademba Road to Ashobi Corner) in Freetown, will start around December.
Kebbay was speaking at the Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces’ headquarters in Freetown where President Tejan Kabbah was commissioning 40 vehicles donated by the Libyan Government.”
In that light, we are calling on the government to please name this vital bypass road after the late President as part of his enduring legacy.
