THE Bulawayo City Council (BCC) has made significant strides in rehabilitating a section of Luveve Road that had become impassable due to potholes.
So bad was the section of the road that motorists had abandoned it for pathways and roads that pass through residential areas which was risky for Matshobana suburb residents as children normally play on the streets. Luveve Road is one of the busiest roads in the city as it links most western areas to the city centre.
BCC public relations officer Miss Bongiwe Ngwenya told Sunday News that works were being conducted on the section of Luveve Road where the local authority was expecting to spend at least US$1,2 million on the project.
“The City of Bulawayo continues to carry out the rehabilitation works on Luveve Road — Matshobana section. To date the reconstruction works have involved base preparation and final compaction of bases completing the earthworks. Currently ongoing is the priming of the road before surfacing with bituminous material. The primer is meant to prevent the ingress of water into the gravel sub-bases and creates a bond between the sub-bases and the asphalt concrete/tar. To date we have reconstructed, compacted and primed the bases, which is where all the strength of a good road is determined. We are allowing the prime to dry, and thereafter we will commence surfacing the base. The rehabilitation works are funded by council,” said Miss Ngwenya.
A visit by Sunday News yesterday to the section of the road in Matshobana suburb revealed that work was indeed in progress, much to the delight of motorists who are temporarily using the one-way lane as part of the road has been barricaded to allow for completion of works. The road is one of the five roads identified by council for emergency rehabilitation, with others being Matopos, Wellington,Khami Road and Steelworks. Council also intends to do overlays along Khami Road from the flyover to Mpopoma Avenue as well as Matopos Road from 23rd Avenue to Leander Road.
The roadworks, which started last month are expected to be completed within three months and are in line with calls for the rehabilitation of roads by the Minister of Transport and Infrastructural Development, Cde Felix Mhona. At the end of last year, Minister Mhonatoured the section of the Luveve Road that is now being rehabilitated and directed the Zimbabwe National Roads Administration (Zinara) to release funds to the local authorities in the country to attend to the roads. BCC submitted a $3 billion quotation to the Government after it pledged to release funds to rehabilitate some of the city’s unnavigable roads. – Sunday News
