Introduction:
Formerly known as Pipeline Road the Kairaba Avenue
was named after the Gambia's former President Sir Dawda
Kairaba Jawara. It runs eastwards from the Total petrol
station on the Atlantic coast and terminates at the
monument at Westfield
in Serrekunda.
The reason it used to be called Pipeline Rd. was because
it is so long (3 Km). It transects Fajara M and F sections.
The road itself is lined with banks, restaurants, mobile
telephone companies, fashion shops and other retail
outlets. The year 2006 saw the installation of street
lights running most of the length of this road terminating
at the traffic lights.
Information:
It is the main thoroughfare which runs in a relatively
straight line from the 2 monuments at Westfield Junction
up past Kairaba Shopping Centre in a north easterly
direction up to Mama's Restaurant. On the south east
end of Kairaba Avenue is more or less the Serrekunda
/ Latrikunda section which has the Post Office, Africell,
Latrikunda School, LG Electronics. Once you get past
the Africell headquarters you go past the Ecobank, FIB,
Elton Petrol Station, Le Palais du Chocolat (sells cakes
& ice cream), Photo Express, La Parisienne (a patisserie
retailer) and the new Access Bank on the left hand side.
About 100 m further down on the right side is the US
Peace Corps building shortly followed by the American
Embassy which is opposite GT Bank.
Still going north east you come across MP Trading, Prime
Stationery, Right Choice Supermarket and at the flyover
junction there are 2 main landmarks which are the Standard
Chartered House and the Oryx Petrol Station at the intersection.
After 10am this area is full of billboards, street peddlers,
beggars, fruit sellers, taxis and chancers. Immediately
further down from this point it becomes more relaxed
and quieter as the roadside is full of more residential
houses. The first place you see is the Kairaba Police
Station on the right and further down to your  left
is the Sankung Sillah building (one of the tallest buildings
in The Gambia). Soon you reach the Bakau New Town junction
(Sabena Junction) on your right which leads you into
Bakau New Town and towards Banjul. After this junction
are a row of shops and restaurants including The Emporium
Shopping Mall,  The
Butcher's Shop (restaurant), The Stone's Lounge, Pipper's
kids clothes shop and Francisco's. At this point you
have hit the end of the road junction and ahead of you
is the Atlantic Boulevard.
You can get to the ocean by carrying on in a straight
line uphill on a dirt road and down to Leybato.
Places To Stay:
There is no real accommodation to stay on the Kairaba
Avenue however, just off the road you can find Francisco's
Hotel, JD Apartments, Sermaho Residence, The Malawi
Guest House and Fajara Golf Apartments.
Property Prices:
The cost of an empty plot of land alone is astronomical
as there is heavy competition from international companies
to base their headquarters along this commercially lucrative
thoroughfare.
Road Conditions:
It is best when driving south east during the daytime
to avoid Kairaba Avenue from the traffic lights up to
the junction at Westfield. This is because cars are
normally slow moving and almost bumper-to-bumper which
can cause you unnecessary delay. Try and take the back
roads from the Stadium and into Kanifing then go onto
one of 3 main roads: 1 leads into Westfield Junction
from the Banjul Highway and the other 2 lead directly
onto Kairaba Avenue.
The Kairaba Avenue itself has not been resurfaced for
many years now erosion is beginning to take its toll
on the edges making it difficult to get off the road
and onto the 'kerb'. Hopefully it will soon follow other
road projects in the Gambia and be re-surfaced. |
