The rehabilitation of a 10km stretch in the Mazunga area along the Beitbridge-Bulawayo Highway has started, with the contractor, Step and Path, already on the ground working on a 5km detour to divert traffic from the damaged road.
The road will be fixed in two phases and the company is now taking more earth moving equipment to the site.
Project manager, Mr Brian West, said they had already started hiring general labour from villages near the road, while a few technical staffers will come from Bulawayo.
“We have started working on the first 5km of detour and we will open it soon to traffic and then move to carry out civil works on the main road,” he said.
“The entire project will cover 10km fully surfaced road and we are hoping to complete it in the shortest possible time.
“So, while we are fixing the detour, we are also mobilising more machinery to the site.”
Mr West said on some parts of the road, they will have to fix potholes during the course of road construction process.
Sites have been identified where gravel would be extracted for use during road construction.
In separate interviews, motorists and Beitbridge residents welcomed the move by the Government to fix the road.
Chief Stauze, born Mr David Mbedzi, said the Government had fulfilled its promise to attend to people’s concerns.
He said they were looking forward to the completion of the project.
“This a good move by our Government,” said Chief Stauze.
“I use that road more often and its current state is disturbing. In fact, that part of the road was causing nightmares for most motorists and it’s a huge relief that it is now being fixed.
“We would take longer than necessary to drive through that area and besides, some motorists had their tyres damaged at that particular area.”
A motorist from Beitbridge, Mr Jabulani Makhado, said the bad state of the road had become a cause for concern to the community.
“As a community, we appreciate the efforts by our Government to address our challenges,” he said.
“You will note that in some instances, the road had been a cause of road traffic accidents.
“It is our hope that road carnage will be reduced along that area and motorists would be able to travel on schedule.”
Ambulance services between Beitbridge, Gwanda and Bulawayo are also expected to move faster once the road is rehabilitated.
Last year, President Mnangagwa called on the speedy rehabilitation of the 327km Beitbridge-Bulawayo-Victoria Falls Highway.
He said it was necessary for that highway to be fixed to complement the upgraded Beitbridge Border Post, and more importantly, because it leads to Victoria Falls, one of the seventh natural wonders of the world. – The Herald
