Highway rehab to begin after Easter

New road signs that are in line with the Sadc protocol manual on preferred signs would be used on the highway to ensure uniformity with other countries in the region. 
In an interview yesterday, Zinara’s regional engineer for the southern region Engineer Moses Julius Juma, said the road’s lifespan would be increased by at least 10 years after completion of the project, in three years time.
He however said with proper maintenance, the road could last longer.
“The scope of works include total rehabilitation or digging up and reconstruction of about 90 kilometres of the road, widening about 140km from a width of seven to 10 metres and surfacing of 590 kilometres of the highway,” said Eng Juma.
He said the road would maintain the two lanes that it                  has always had, contrary to popular belief that it would be dualised.
Eng Juma said the parts that needed total rehabilitation, which include 16km stretch in Kadoma and a section that was damaged by Cyclone Eline in Figtree, would be done using new cutting edge technology.
“An environmentally friendly machine called a recycler will be used. This machine rips up the road surface and grinds it up to a fine powder.
“It then mixes the powder with bitumen, compacts the              road and reapplies the new surface all in one go. A road can              be rehabilitated in a few hours without the need for detours          and motorists can drive over it as soon as it is done,” he                  said.
“When complete, we would have an entirely brand new  surface on the road, with a 10 kilometre wide carriageway. The extension of the width on certain portions will help to reduce accidents that are caused by side swiping of vehicles on the narrow roads.”
Eng Juma said the carriageway markings on the road would  be painted with a special reflective paint and reflectors called cat’s eyes would be placed on the road to improve visibility at night.
He said the erection of new road signs was subject to a law being gazetted to legalise them.
“Hopefully, by the time they have to be erected, the law         which is being discussed, would have been gazetted,” said Eng Juma.
He said new perimeter fences would be erected along the highway to stop animals from straying onto it and causing accidents.
Eng Juma said Group Five and Zinara had formed a company called Infralink to undertake the project.
“Group Five provides the expertise while local companies         that have the capacity to carry out the work are contracted. Communities along the highway are hired as labourers so              that they get a sense of ownership of the works and are         expected to help protect it from vandalism upon completion,” he said.
Eng Juma said extensive tests were carried out to ensure that the work done conformed to international standards.
“First, we carried out a topographical survey to find out the existing state of the road. Then we used a scanner that has laser beams, which video-filmed and identified all cracks on the highway.
“A test called a Falling Weight Deflectometer (FWD), which releases a point weight on the road at every 200 metre interval to determine the on-site strength of the road was used,” said Eng Juma.
He said a Dynamic Cone Penetration (DCP) test was then carried out by driving a rod through to a depth of about 800 millimetres on the road.
Eng Juma said the rate of penetration showed the residual strength of the road.
“We also took soil samples from pits that were up to a metre deep in the middle of portions of the road to find the moisture content and a visual test was finally conducted to corroborate the findings of the instruments,” he said.
The Plumtree to Mutare highway project represents the largest monetary investment into any single infrastructural development programme in the last 12 years.