Democratic Republic of the Congo

Roads

Roads in the DRC are in a very poor condition, however it is slowly improving, only 2% of roads are paved, over half of paved roads is shared by the RN1 , and most roads are unpaved and usually impassable in the wet season, even with a 4X4, signage is extremly poor and very rare, however signs in Kinshasa are based on a French model, outside Kinshasa Road signage model varies. Road markings also vary, newer roads have markings based off the French model, however the RN5 near Lubumbashi has markings based off the Russian road markings model.

Highway network

Highways also called Route Nationles are determined by the 'RN' or 'N' prefix, most of these are unpaved and impassable during the wet season, the RN1 is the only Route Nationle that is paved for a majority of its distance. A small stretch of RN2 in North Kivu is also paved to a low standard but is of high quality, and the RN5 is paved for around 100 miles but is of moderate to poor quality. The RN39 is the only fully paved Route Nationle, but it is very important to the mining industry.

Motorways

There is no known motorways in the DRC, however the RN1 is a D3 class road from Kinshasa Interchange to Kimpoko 20 miles northwast of Kinshasa, this road has a few interchanges however it is of low quality and has many potholes.

However the RN1 is built at a very modern standard of high quality in the city centre of Kinshasa, and is a D4 standard, however there is no interchanges and is very busy.

Toll roads

There is a toll across the Matadi Bridge on the RN1 and is of very high quality, it is the only bridge across the Congo River, there is no other way across except for a ferry via dirt tracks.

Highway numbering

RN routes are given to roads with high importance, however there is no orginised system or numbering the routes, however the RN9 is the least important of these and does not serve a through purpose and is a dead end, is it unknown why such a short road has been given such a high number. Despite being the main roads, they can take days or weeks to travel even a few hundred miles due to the extremly poor state of the roads.

RP roads are provincial roads that connect provincial centres, these are almost always unpaved and there is only a couple known RP roads that are even paved for a couple miles, the best of these is the RP408 in Kisangani, this section of paved road through the city is of high quality but has a low standard.

RS roads connect RP roads and and usually can only be travelled by bikes.

Local roads

Local roads are in poor condition and should only be travelled by motorcycles or extremly good 4x4s, however some exceptions do apply and some can be travelled in a normal unmodified 4x4 or can be driven at speeds of 30mph in the dry season.