adminPatrick Chitumba, Midlands Bureau Chief
THE government has completed the reconstruction of the Musavezi River Bridge, about 20km from Chachacha business centre along the Shurugwi-Mandamambwe Road which was swept away by floods last year.
A Zupco bus which had crossed the bridge earlier in the day plunged into the river, with the driver unaware that the bridge had been swept away.
The bus was then swept away killing four cross-border traders.
Midlands Provincial Road Engineer, Stephen Kamutema, said treasury provided $900,000 for the reconsrtruction of the bridge. “Musavezi River Bridge along the Shurugwi- Mhandamabwe highway has been reconstructed by the government and is now in use,” he said.
Kamutema said the collapse of the major bridge on the Musavezi River had cut off the road linking traffic from the north and Beitbridge to the south.
He said, “The completion of work on the bridge is a welcome relief for travellers and businesses as it has resulted in reduced travel time for north-bound traffic from Beitbridge Border Post and Masvingo province.”
The bridge, which was completed around 1993, was washed away on February 6 last year resulting in the fatal Zupco bus accident.
derick.khumalo