9 Major Roads that link Africa, Trans-African Highway.
1. TAH1- Cairo-Dakar Highway, 8,636 km, Egypt to Senegal.
The Cairo–Dakar Highway or TAH 1 is Trans-African Highway 1 in the transcontinental road network being developed by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), the African Development Bank (ADB), and the African Union. The major part of the highway between Tripoli and Nouakchott has been constructed under a project of the Arab Maghreb Union. Since 1994 the land border between Morocco and Algeria has been closed completely, so the Cairo–Dakar Highway cannot be used in its entirety. Construction in Tunisia continues.
2. TAH2 – Algiers–Lagos Highway,4,504 km, Algeria to Nigeria.
Conceived over 50 years ago, the Trans-Saharan Highway runs almost 5,000 kilometres from Algiers to Lagos in Nigeria. Its goal is to strengthen regional integration and promote trade between the north and south of the Sahara.
But it’s not just roads that connect people. There’s also the internet. This road is lined with thousands of kilometres of cable as part of another multinational project: the Trans-Saharan Fibre Optic Backbone. Six African countries are members of the project, which is intended to offer a cheaper alternative to satellite solutions.
3. TAH3 – Tripoli–Cape Town Highway,10,808 km, Lybia to South Africa.
The Tripoli–Cape Town Highway or TAH 3 is Trans-African Highway 3 in the transcontinental road network being developed by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), the African Development Bank (AfDB), and the African Union. The route has a length of 10,808 km (6,716 mi) and has the longest missing links and requires the most new road construction. It is meant to be the second link between North and Southern Africa, with the Cairo-Cape Town Highway being the other route, passing through East Africa.
4. TAH4 – Cairo-Cape Town Highway, 10,228 km, Egypt to South Africa.
The Cairo–Cape Town Highway is Trans-African Highway 4 in the transcontinental road network being developed by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), the African Development Bank (AfDB), and the African Union. The route has a length of 10,228 km (6,355 mi) and links Cairo in Egypt to Cape Town in South Africa.
Cape to Cairo highway connects nine African countries, including South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Sudan and Egypt.
5. TAH5 – Dakar-Ndjamena Highway,4,496 km, Senegal to Chad.
The Trans-Sahelian Highway or TAH 5 is a transnational highway project to pave, improve and ease border formalities on a highway route through the southern fringes of the Sahel region in West Africa between Dakar, Senegal in the west and Ndjamena, Chad, in the east. Alternative names for the highway are the Dakar-Ndjamena Highway or Ndjamena-Dakar Highway and it is Trans-African Highway 5 in the Trans-African Highway network.
The highway passes through seven countries and five national capitals, and links regions of similar climate and environment which have cultural and trade links going back centuries. It is one of two east–west transnational links in West Africa and runs inland from and, for most of its length, roughly parallel to the Trans–West African Coastal Highway with a separation of about 900 km (559 mi).
6. TAH6 – Ndjamena-Djibouti Highway,4,219 km, Chad to Djibouti.
The Ndjamena-Djibouti Highway or TAH 6 is Trans-African Highway 6 in the transcontinental road network being developed by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), the African Development Bank (ADB), and the African Union, connecting the Sahelian region to the Indian Ocean port of Djibouti in the country of Djibouti.
The road passes through Darfur in western Sudan and the town of Al-Fashir, scene of the Darfur conflict. The route has a length of 4,219 km (2,622 mi) crossing Chad, central Sudan and northern Ethiopia. Between Wad Madani in Sudan and Werota in Ethiopia the highway shares the same route as Trans-Africa Highway 4, the Cairo-Cape Town Highway.
The highway is contiguous with the Dakar-Ndjamena Highway with which it will form a complete east–west crossing of the continent of 8,715 km (5,415 mi).
7. TAH7 – Dakar-Lagos Highway, 4,010 km, Senegal to Nigeria.
The Trans–West African Coastal Highway or TAH 7 is a transnational highway project to link 12 West African coastal nations, from Mauritania in the north-west of the region to Nigeria in the east, with feeder roads already existing to two landlocked countries, Mali and Burkina Faso.
The eastern end of the highway terminates at Lagos, Nigeria. Some organizations such as the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) consider its western end to be Nouakchott, Mauritania, and others such as the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa consider it to be Dakar, Senegal, giving rise to these alternative names for the road:
Trans-African Highway 7 in the Trans-African Highway network.
8. TAH8 – Lagos-Mombasa Highway, 6,259km Nigeria to Kenya.
The Lagos–Mombasa Highway (also known as the Mombasa-Lagos Highway) or TAH 8 is Trans-African Highway 8 and is the principal road route between West and East Africa. It has a length of 6,259 km (3,889 mi) and is contiguous with the Dakar-Lagos Highway with which it will form (when complete) the longest east-west crossing of the continent for a total distance of 10,269 km (6,381 mi).
9. TAH9 – Beira-Lobito Highway, 3,523 km, Mozambique to Angola.
The Beira–Lobito Highway or TAH 9 is Trans-African Highway 9 in the transcontinental road network being developed by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), the African Development Bank (ADB), and the African Union. The route has a length of 3,523 km (2,189 mi) crossing Angola, the most southerly part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and central Mozambique.
The route links mining areas of DR Congo, Zambia and Zimbabwe and agricultural production areas of Angola, Zambia and Zimbabwe to the Atlantic port of Lobito and Indian Ocean port of Beira. Civil wars in Angola, DR Congo, Zimbabwe and Mozambique have affected development of the highway in the past, most recently in DR Congo and Angola.
Between Kapiri Mposhi and Kafue in Zambia, the highway shares the route with the Cairo-Cape Town Highway. When complete the highway will be the southernmost of the Trans-African network’s east-west crossings of the continent.
The total length of the nine highways in the network is 56,683 km