I live on the North Bank of the Gambia River about five miles from the river crossing to the South Bank near Soma. When I arrived in country fifteen months ago this bridge was under construction, and I was told would make the ferry crossing a thing of the past. The official opening of the bridge was January 21, 2019, which unfortunately was a day I needed to cross the river. I didn’t want to be there when the ceremony was happening, because I’m not fond of being part of the chaos large crowds here create. Fortunately, I went early enough in the morning and avoided the hassle of the opening ceremony and used the ferry to cross the river.

Eventually it will be possible for me to get a taxi from Farafenni to Soma, which will be very nice, but now it is very expensive so I will continue to use the ferry until the trip becomes routine and the taxi drivers stop overcharging us. The twenty minute taxi ride from Farafenni is $0.50 to the ferry terminal, the ferry cost is $0.40 and takes about thirty minutes, and the twenty minute taxi to Soma is another $0.50. Three days after the ferry opened, when I needed to return from the South Bank to Farafenni, a taxi wanted to charge me $5. It is my understanding the vehicle fee is $5, but a taxi carries four passengers, and I thought that was an unreasonable amount for one passenger to pay, and completely unrealistic for the average Gambian.

I have included some photos from news sources about the bridge opening and a couple of websites that give more information about the event – BBC an excellent article & AFP a short video. Gambians love to party and according to people I spoke with that attended the opening ceremony it was a very successful event.

I’m not sure what will happen to all vendors that currently make their living selling food and goods to the people using the ferry. There is a very brisk business on both sides of the river and also on the ferry catering to the needs of the travelers.

There is also a long boat business to ferry people across the river for when the ferry is too full or you don’t want to wait for the next one to arrive. They pack as many people as possible on these  boats and give you flimsy life jackets to wear. There have been times when I arrived at the ferry terminal and the ferry was out of commission and the long boat was the only option.

Transportation in The Gambia has many challenges, but the opening of this bridge will eventually make a big difference. It was not unusual to see semi trucks lined up for many miles waiting their turn to cross the river, sometimes having to wait for up to a week. There is still more road construction leading to the bridge that needs to be completed, before the large trucks can use the bridge, so until then they still need to wait their turn to load on the ferry. Most of  the commercial truck traffic is from Senegal to Senegal, since The Gambia divides that country for about two hundred miles from the west at the Atlantic Ocean eastward into the African continent.

It’s gratifying to see any kind of progress, and I’m sure that when all the road construction is complete and the transportation providers develop a economical system it will be great benefit the the Gambian people.