Roads in Kigali

Since not much is happening to write about, I thought I’d just tell a bit about the roads.

Here in Kigali, the main roads are paved and in good condition (I don’t think I’ve seen any pot holes). Many of them are two lanes going each way, the bigger boulevards have planters dividing them which are well kept (they put Long Beach to shame). Several of them have lane lines and even left turn lanes in some strategic places. There several roundabouts and a few with traffic lights, at least one has a left turn light. During high traffic times, one of the intersections with lights can be a little scary because vehicles are kind of pushing their way through and even though the speeds are slow, it’s hard to know exactly who is going where – plus pedestrians are trying to get across. Sometimes there is police officer directing the pedestrians which helps some.


The next level down are the cobblestone roads. These are pretty good except that you jiggle all the way. It is hard to carry on a conversation on these roads because the are so bumpy and noisy. But they are clean and usually in good repair. I’m sure they are cheaper to make than the paved roads.

The next level down are the grated dirt roads. These are smooth dirt roads and you can go at a normal speed except that the dust flies everywhere. I feel very sorry for the folks who live or work along these roads because of the constant dirt flying. The plants and buildings are all covered with red dirt. I noticed one house along one of these roads that had wisely painted their walls the same color as the dirt!

The next level down are the ungrated dirt roads like the one we live on. It is just like the roads in Zaire that are full of ruts and you drive on either side to avoid holes and ruts. Everyone in the car gets bumped around. It has the potential for being very dusty but you can’t really get up to speed because of the ruts so the dust isn’t too bad.

There are also the roads like Mama Fifi lives on that cars rarely travel on so they are actually pretty good. They are more “wild” with grass growing on them here and there.

Traffic flows on the right side of the road.

Oh, yes, the drainage ditches. All the roads except some of the ungrated dirt roads, have strategic drainage ditches along the sides. The ditches are 1 – 3 feet wide and 3 feet deep and are usually located right on the side of the road. It could be quite dangerous to accidently drive into or fall into one. The city is very hilly and when it rains, it really rains, even if only for 10 minutes. So to prevent erosion and unwanted runoff, etc., the city has built these ditches. If the road is paved or cobbled, then the ditches are cemented and some are quite nice looking actually. The dirt roads have dirt ditches dug into the dirt. We often see “workers” (probably prisoners) digging ditches along the side of the roads. It is all hand dug! I have no idea where the water in the ditches ends up. If you need to get across the ditch, there are various types of little “bridges” that help you get where you need to go. The construction of these bridges depends on the type of traffic going across them and whether they are in an area of high profile in town or if they are in residential areas.

The main road going to FATER is paved but the road you turn on to to get to the site is an ungrated dirt road. Mark may talk with the chief of the area to see if they can work out something to get it grated.