the early 20th century as an aim of the French Empire. Trans-African Highway 7 (TAH 7), Dakar–Lagos Highway, : also known as the Trans–West African Coastal Road, about 80% complete. This highway joins with TAH 1 to form an additional north–south route around the western extremity of the continent. Trans-African Highway 8 (TAH 8), Lagos–Mombasa Highway, : which is contiguous with TAH7 and forms with it a 10,269-km east–west crossing of the continent. The Lagos–Mombasa Highway's eastern half is complete through Kenya and Uganda, where locally it is known as the Trans-Africa Highway (the only place where the name is in common use). Its western extremity in Nigeria, Cameroon and Central African Republic is mostly complete but a long missing link across DR Congo currently prevents any practical use through the middle section. Trans-African Highway 9 (TAH 9), Beira–Lobito Highway, : substantially complete in the eastern half but the western half through Angola and south-central DR Congo requires reconstruction. North-south routes Starting with the most westerly, these are: Trans-African Highway 2 (TAH 2), Algiers–Lagos Highway, : also known as the Trans-Sahara Highway: substantially complete, only of desert track remains to be paved, but border and security controls restrict usage. Trans-African Highway 3 (TAH 3), Tripoli–Windhoek–(Cape Town) Highway, : this route has the most missing links and requires the most new construction, as only national paved roads in Libya, Cameroon, Angola, Namibia and South Africa can be used to any extent. South Africa was not originally included, as the highway was first planned in the Apartheid era, but it is now recognized that it would continue to Cape Town. Trans-African Highway 4 (TAH 4), Cairo–Gaborone–(Pretoria/Cape Town) Highway, : the completion of the stretch of highway from Dongola to Abu Simbel Junction in Northern Sudan and the road from the Galabat border crossing in North-Western Ethiopia leaves no section unpaved; the road section between Babati and Dodoma in central Tanzania was completed in May 2018. The section between Isiolo and Moyale in northern Kenya (dubbed 'the road to hell' by overland travellers) has recently been completed creating a smooth crossing across Kenya. Crossing the Egypt-Sudan border by road has been prohibited for a number of years, a vehicle ferry on Lake Nasser is used instead. As with TAH 3, South Africa was not originally included as the idea was first proposed in the Apartheid era, but it is now recognized that it