The road network fell into disrepair during the civil war. However, recently, there has been a substantial reconstruction programme which means the main roads to regional cities such as Bo, Kenema and Makeni are in excellent condition. The road to Kabala mostly smooth tar, with a few terribly potholed patches. The road to Kono is for three quarters tar, but the remaining quart is in mostly poor condition. It means it takes as much time to cover 3/4 of the distance as it takes for the balance 1/4. Government has planned to upgrade the last stretch in 2011. The peninsular road is good from Eastern Freetown clockwise around the peninsular to Tokeh. Work has started on the remaining section to Lumley. The roads in Freetown are difficult to characterize. In the center of town, the main roads are mostly smooth and pothole-free, having been constructed from high-quality asphalt a long time ago. Side streets are often a mixture of dirt and gravel, sometimes with large protruding stones, deep crevasses, and other potential dangers. Most main feeder roads such as Wilkinson Road, Spur Road and Sir Samuel Lewis road in the Western part of Freetown are in atrocious condition, but work is under way to reconstruct them - expect traffic chaos until July 2011. When walking, always keep your eyes in front of you: most of the sidewalks in Freetown have "death traps," missing blocks of cement that could lead to a nasty fall into an open gutter. For this reason, most Freetown residents choose to walk in the street and avoid sidewalks, a major contributing factor to the city's congestion.
