Online Reporter
Freeman Razemba
Senior Reporter
Construction of another bridge, Chimusana Bridge, a Trumpet Interchange and an urban bypass which are all near the recently commissioned Mucheke River Bridge, is still underway in Masvingo, with some of the works almost complete.
The project located in Masvingo Urban, near Mucheke River bridge and the Masvingo Polytechnic College, is designed as a grade-separation structure to allow traffic traveling to Beitbridge to bypass the Masvingo Central Business District (CBD).
Construction of the Masvingo Trumpet Interchange is progressing rapidly as part of the final stages of the Harare-Beitbridge Highway upgrade.
It is part of the broader North-South Corridor improvement.
This interchange is designed to reduce congestion at critical, high-volume intersections in Masvingo, minimise accidents, and enhance travel efficiency for long-distance drivers.
The project is part of the modernisation initiatives involving contractors, Masimba Holdings and Fossil Contracting.
Last week, the newly constructed Mucheke River Bridge in Masvingo, which is set to ease congestion, improve road safety and boost trade along one of the country’s busiest transport corridors, the Harare-Masvingo-Beitbridge Highway, was also opened to traffic.
Motorists and transport operators have hailed the development.
Transport and Infrastructural Development Minister Felix Mhona and his Masvingo Provincial Affairs and Devolution counterpart Ezra Chadzamira led a delegation to officially commission the bridge.
So far, about 550km of the 580km Harare-Masvingo-Beitbridge Road has been rehabilitated, with only 30km left and anticipated to be completed this year.
In an interview, Minister Mhona said he was happy with the opening of the Mucheke River Bridge, which was going to decongest traffic.
“And going forward, you will see us working with speed on the Trumpet (interchange), and others might call it an interchange just a few metres from this point where we will be actually constructing the interchange to decongest traffic and also as a bypass to those who don’t need to come through the great city on their way to South Africa or vice versa.
“We continue in that trajectory to make sure that the mantra of His Excellency Cde Dr Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa that we build our own country and we need to enhance issues of connectivity and this is what we are doing.”
In another interview, Masimba Holdings chief executive officer Engineer Fungai Matahwa said, “As you know this is a corridor that leads all the way to the north all the traffic passes through here, so the first bridge is the Chevron (Mucheke) which has been upgraded to a dual one then on the left side we have got the Chimusana which is now around 70 percent complete, then we have the trumpet which is further down the area.
“So, all the principles around these three bridges is to make sure they decongest traffic and ease the flow of traffic.”
