Chronicle Editor
Bongani Ndlovu
THE Bulawayo City Council (BCC) is still quantifying the amount of additional funds required to complete rehabilitating sections of Luveve Road in Bulawayo that was initially pegged at US$1,2 million.
Last week, council said it has incurred increased costs due to a high-water table, water logged soils and expansive clays, water and sewer line that were no detected during investigations.
Coupled with the rains in February, council said this has resulted in delays of up to seven weeks for works to be completed.
BCC said it is self-funding the project which it had initially estimated to cost US$1,2 million.
The road works, which started in January, were expected to be completed this month.
When contacted for comment, the council spokesperson Mrs Nesisa Mpofu, said the local authority was still assessing the revised cost.
“The council is still to ascertain the additional costs given the additional works and materials required.
It is difficult to say how much additional funding is required right now as we are clarifying the extent of the works,” said Mrs Mpofu.
In a video on the BCC Facebook page on the update of the road works along Luveve Road, BCC Acting Principal Operations Engineer in the Engineering Services Engineer Lookout Ndlovu said: “The challenges that we faced working on the Renkini section is expansive material and there is high water table and in addition we have encountered a lot of services which were not detected during the investigations period.
“These consist of sewer lines, electricity cables, reclaimed water lines and water lines and this has slowed down our progress. The challenge we have faced is that we worked during the rainy season and this has slowed us down quite significantly.”
Motorists have to be patient when travelling along that road because in that section of the road, traffic moves at a snail’s pace.
There is a lot of digging taking place on the section of the road just after Renkini Bus Terminus.
The trench being dug is almost two metres deep and the two left lanes are now closed to traffic forcing motorists heading to the city and those going in the opposite direction to share the two remaining lanes thereby causing congestion. The situation is not helped by kombis that are touting for passengers along the way.
In an update last week, Town Clerk Mr Christopher Dube said the project cost has gone up.
“The City of Bulawayo would like to advise the motoring public that the completion of Luveve road improvement works will delay by approximately seven (7) weeks to the 31st of May 2023. The delay is attributed to incessant rains during the month of February 2023 and adverse ground conditions (i.e. high water table/water logged soils and expansive clays),” said Mr Dube.
“These have had an adverse impact on construction works, necessitated extension of time and resulted in increased costs. There are expansive clays that require specialised treatment and the high-water table will need a subsoil drainage system to be installed.”
Mr Dube said to ensure the safety of the motoring public, pedestrians and workforce during the works, council has put in place traffic control measures.
“Full carriageway closure of sections with traffic diverted accordingly; lane closures where necessary, speed humps and no stopping signs within the works extents, are some of the control measures meant to ensure smooth flow of traffic.
The motoring and general public are advised to exercise extreme caution when entering and leaving construction works areas and observe all warning signs,” said Mr Dube.
The 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.
It also wants to patch potholes and improve drainage as well as road signage.
Bulawayo’s roads are riddled with potholes and the situation has been worsened by the incessant rains received during the last rainy season.
Bulawayo City Council is on record saying 70 percent of its road network has outlived its lifespan. The local authority says it requires about US$700 million to fix the roads. — @bonganinkunzi
Online Reporter