Chronicle Editor
Thandeka Moyo-Ndlovu, Senior Reporter
BULAWAYO City Council (BCC), through the ongoing Government-funded Emergency Road Rehabilitation Programme 2 (ERRP2) has started rehabilitating key roads in the city at a cost of more than $768 million.
The project is being jointly implemented by BCC and the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure Development.
Treasury and the Zimbabwe National Road Administration (Zinara) are jointly funding the roads rehabilitation programme.
Council says 75 percent of the city roads are in poor condition and require at least US$700 million for road rehabilitation.
Bulawayo has approximately 2 400km of road network.
Under the ERRP2, the city will rehabilitate 10 roads this year which will be funded through the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure Development.
They are Ndaba Road, Catherine Berry Drive, Nkulumane Drive, Glenville Drive, Lobengula Street, Chinamano Road, Netherby, Renkini Road, Woodville Road and Cowdray Park-Hlalani Kuhle.
Council also intends to rehabilitate at least nine roads which include Fairbridge Way (Phillips Dr to Cecil Avenue), Huggins Road (Luveve Road to Police), Woodville Park Road (Harare Road to the first curve), Luveve 5 Road, Maduma Drive (Intemba to S J Ngwenya Shops) and Murchison Road (scone to Adair Drive).
The other roads are Hospital Road, Dundee/ Lancaster, St Albans / Balley Road, Chipping Way, Inverleith Drive and streets in high density suburbs. Ten wards will benefit from this programme.
The ministry has been involved in the rehabilitation of several roads in the city including Siyepambili Drive.
Government launched the ERRP 2 programme to rehabilitate roads in cities and towns after realising that local authorities were failing to maintain the roads. Driving along the potholed roads had become a nightmare for motorists.
Most of Bulawayo city’s roads have outlived their life span and 70 percent need rehabilitation.
Council corporate affairs manager Mrs Nesisa Mpofu said for a long time the local authority had focused on maintenance of major roads, arterials, collector roads, the central business district as it could not rehabilitate all the roads due to financial constraints.
She said through ERRP 2, councils can now focus on roads in high density suburbs and other areas which could not be attended to before.
“Yes, we have started working on the identified roads and so far, our teams have done some work along Nketa Drive from Khami Road and also Madibheni Road near Nhliziyo Shops in Entumbane. As at February we had budgeted nearly $700 million for road rehabilitation,” she said.
She said council managed to do a section of the Road leading to Mpilo Central Hospital as part of Independence celebration preparations.
She said the ERRP2 allocation for the city this year is about $300 million and council intends using 70 percent of the allocation on periodic maintenance while the remaining 30 percent will go towards pothole patching, crack sealing and slurry sealing.
“The City of Bulawayo Annual Roads Implementation programme for 2022 will focus on the preservation of roads in a fair condition, prioritising the Central Business District and public transport roads. The works will be conducted through in-house teams and private contractors as and when the need arises,” said Mrs Mpofu.
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