The "La Corniche" road open to the public

The first stretch of the la corniche road between Case de Gaulle and Club Nautique Mami Wata was open to traffic on the 5 February 2016 by the Head of State Denis Sassou N’Guesso in the presence of the national and international community. A stretch of 2500 Km, the work was carried out by the Chinese company China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) in two distinct segments and financed by the Congolese Government at a total cost of 72 Billion 27 Million 235 Thousand 967 CFA Francs.

For the first 1.2 Km stretch, going from Case de Gaulle to Ravin du Tchad, the work consisted in building a new two-way road with a median of 1m, a 4m sidewalk on the side of River Congo and a 1.5m wide service access on the side of the town.

There are two roundabouts with a 30m radius, one to the Ravin du Tchad and the other to the Case de Gaulle with a 360m long access bridge as well as a viaduct. The South viaduct offering a panoramic view over the whole area is a cable-stayed bridge with a curved deck with a radius of 500m and 545m long with two pylons having an overall height of 122m, and a 905m long sound protection for surrounding homes.

Renamed Pont du 15 Août 1960 (5 August 1960 Bridge), the viaduct of La Corniche is not far from the Case de Gaulle, the site has undergone panoramic renovation to preserve the vocation of the city’s touristic heritage. To demonstrate the fairy nature of the bridge. The viaduct stands majestically on 120 cables with lengths varying from 65 to 68 metres, lighted with national colours (Green-Yellow-Red), sign of the Republic.

As for the Club nautique Mami-Wata - Ravin du Tchad stretch which is 1.3 Km long, the works carried out here consisted in reclassifying the old road, including the revalorization of the road’s scenery and architecture as well as the functional reorganisation of its communication with the rest of the town. 1000 to 3000 vehicles would be able to ply this stretch at the reference speed of 60 km/h. According to Jean Jacques Bouya, Minister of regional Development and General Delegation of Public Works, « the scenic view of the River from the town consists of a 2m wide sidewalk, a 2.2m median, two 3.5m roads and a 10m walkway for strolling on the side of the River ». This stretch will help to reduce circulation between Lycée Savorgnan de Brazza and the Grande Poste and will certainly contribute in strengthening communication between traders and non-traders.

Robert Kouanda