The national road 5, stretching from Douala to Bafoussam and extending to Bamenda in the Northwest region, serves as a critical economic artery for Cameroon. Yet this vital corridor is crumbling under the weight of neglect, earning grim statistics in road safety failures.
Several factors contribute to its rapid deterioration: relentless heavy traffic from intercity trucks and buses, chronic underinvestment in maintenance, and increasingly severe rainfall patterns linked to climate change. The combination has turned this once-reliable route into a hazard zone.
Traveling the broken highway
Boarding a bus traveling from Douala to Bafoussam reveals the harsh reality. Torrential rains flood the highway, eroding asphalt, creating massive potholes, and triggering dangerous land subsidence. What was once a three-and-a-half-hour journey now demands nearly ten grueling hours of discomfort and risk.
Drivers frequently resort to dangerous detours to bypass impassable sections. Alice, a passenger on the route, shared her harrowing experience: « We left Bafoussam 14 hours ago. The main road is completely unusable in the Haut-Nkam area. We had to take the road to Yaoundé, even though our destination is Douala, then turn off at Bagangté to rejoin the Douala-bound route. We’re exhausted, our bodies aching from the ordeal. »
The deadly triangle
The western region’s steep, rugged terrain is particularly vulnerable to water infiltration. On November 5, 2024, the Dschang cliff collapse—where two landslides engulfed buses and cars, killing 14 people—highlighted the road’s fatal susceptibility to extreme weather.
The infamous Douala-Yaoundé-Bafoussam triangle, dubbed the « death triangle », reportedly sees nearly 100 fatalities monthly. Arriving in Bafoussam or Douala often feels like a painful relief, as one traveler described: « I arrived at 2 AM this morning. Frankly, it was a nightmare. I’d even suggest that bus companies reroute through National Road 3 to Yaoundé, then take National Road 6. Yes, the fare would double, but it would spare us ten or eleven hours of agony on the national number five, where travelers often arrive in pieces. »
Government response and public frustration
The government has announced a rehabilitation budget of approximately 180 billion CFA francs, yet travelers remain skeptical. Mika Séma, a transporter, voiced the community’s frustration: « Toll fees are meant to fund road upkeep. How can we justify paying for a road that’s barely more than a dirt track? The authorities must act decisively to rehabilitate this lifeline. »
With rainy seasons growing increasingly violent and no large-scale repairs in sight, the Douala-Bafoussam highway continues to claim victims, casting a shadow over Cameroon’s transportation safety.
