Victor Maphosa-Mashonaland East Bureau
THE construction of a new Melfort Bridge along the Harare-Mutare Highway has reached 75 percent completion, with the project expected to be finished in December.
This will pave way for smoother traffic flow along one of Zimbabwe’s busiest transport corridors.
The bridge, being constructed across the Musitwe River near Melfort Business Centre by Tensor Systems, forms part of the Government’s ongoing dualisation of the Harare-Marondera section of the highway.
The dualisation programme aims to improve road safety, ease congestion and enhance the movement of cargo and commuters along the Beira Corridor, which links Zimbabwe to the Port of Beira in Mozambique.
Mashonaland East Provincial Roads Engineer in the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure Development, Engineer Tatenda Marone Pasipamire, confirmed the December completion target during a site visit. He said construction began in May last year, with initial works focusing on the bridge’s foundations, but progress was later delayed by flooding of the Musitwe River.
“This bridge is a project that we started last year in May and we completed the substructures, which are the foundations of the bridge, but we could not proceed with construction because the river was flooded. We resumed construction in the second quarter of 2026 and progress is now at 75 percent. We are expecting to complete this bridge by December this year,” said Eng Pasipamire.
“Once we complete the bridge construction and weather permitting, we will start working on the approaches, which we could not construct during the bridge works,” he said. Motorists and residents have welcomed the development, saying the second bridge will address longstanding traffic bottlenecks and improve road safety.
Motorist Mr Tavengwa Gotora said: “The construction of this bridge is a welcome development and we commend the Government for this project, which will ease traffic congestion along this stretch of road.
“The dualisation programme will assist motorists, particularly in reducing road traffic accidents. My prayer is that this project is completed. If the road can be dualised from Harare to Marondera, that will be excellent.”
Melfort resident Ms Progress Marunganise said the new crossing would help reduce accidents that frequently occur near the existing bridge.
“We have seen many accidents occurring near the old bridge. Lives have been lost, goods destroyed and trucks damaged. We are excited, as the people of Melfort, to see progress on the construction of this second bridge.”
Currently, motorists travelling along the dualised section of the highway must merge onto a single carriageway to cross the Musitwe River because of the absence of a second bridge. The new structure will eliminate this bottleneck, allowing uninterrupted traffic flow along both carriageways while reducing travel times.
