Published: August 7, 2025
TAPPITA, Nimba County – For the first time in history, asphalt pavement has reached Tappita City, sparking jubilation in Lower Nimba and signaling a long-awaited breakthrough in road development for southeastern Liberia.
Construction equipment rolled into the downtown area this week, laying down smooth blacktop where only dirt and dust once reigned. Residents watched the new pavement with disbelief, some recording the scene on video, others cheering as the long-promised project finally came to life.
“I’m so glad to see such beautiful development,” said Shadrach G. David, a resident of Tappita. “I want to commend our government for doing this for us, and I pray they do even more.”
Street vendor Precious Kpao expressed similar feelings. “I feel very comfortable, and I thank the government so much,” she told reporters.
The development marks a turning point for a region that has long complained of being left behind. For Representative Dorwohn Twain Gleekia of Nimba County District #6—where Tappita is located—the moment is both personal and political.
“For decades, we the citizens of Lower Nimba have prayed for the asphalt pavement to reach our part of the country,” Gleekia said. “We fought, we prayed, but we never had the opportunity, until now.”
Elected in 2018, Gleekia said one of his top priorities was advancing the road project through legislative and financial challenges. He recalled how his office worked to secure ratification of concession and loan agreements needed to fund the construction.
“We took documents from office to office ensuring our colleagues signed the loan agreement,” he said. “We did that. The road started.”
Although construction slowed during the 2023 election season, Gleekia credited President Joseph Nyuma Boakai’s administration for actively pushing the work forward with urgency.
“The true meaning of government is continuity,” he said. “Today, as we speak, the pavement has reached the city of Tappita. This is something we want the world to know—our joy and our thanks to the government of Liberia, whether past or present.”
Gleekia also responded earlier to criticism regarding the placement of the Jackson F. Doe Memorial Hospital in Tappita, which was once dismissed as a “million-dollar investment in the middle of a forest.”
“But today, the story has changed,” he said. “Because of the road, people can now access the hospital. Before, during the rainy season, bad roads made it almost impossible—and drove prices of basic goods through the roof.”
Now, the representative said, residents have new hope.
“We just want to join the emotional joy of all those who are celebrating, who are jubilating today in Tappita,” he said. “This is not one man’s glory. It’s every one of us—citizens who applied pressure, who prayed, who kept hope alive. Bravo to everybody. God bless you.”
The pavement to Tappita is part of the Boakai administration’s broader effort to connect the southeast with modern infrastructure. According to officials, the road corridor will eventually link Zwedru in Grand Gedeh to Fish Town in River Gee, which is already connected to Harper in Maryland County.
Government officials say the expansion is not just about roads; it’s about ending decades of regional isolation, boosting trade, improving healthcare access, and uniting a nation often divided by geography.
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