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Nqobile Tshili, [email protected]
BULAWAYO City Council (BCC) has partially opened Luveve Road which had been closed since the beginning of the year.
The latest development is expected to ease congestion on the road that carries 10 000 vehicles daily.
The Matshobana section was commissioned last Friday while the local authority has committed to completing the full stretch of the road by the end of September.
The local authority allocated US$1,2 million towards the rehabilitation of the road and had initially targeted to cover a 9,2km stretch.
The council however, encountered several challenges in the rehabilitation of the road especially near the Renkini area.
Driving along Luveve Road had become nightmarish for motorists and Transport and Infrastructure Development Minister
Felix Mhona last year, toured the road after a video of the untraffickable patch near the National Oil Infrastructure Company of Zimbabwe (Noczim) was widely circulated online.The Matshobana section is now complete with dual carriageway road markings.
Briefing council officials and journalists during the commissioning of the Matshobana section, BCC roads engineer Methusi Dibidi said Luveve Road falls into the category of strategic roads in the city.
“Luveve Road stretches from Lobengula Street to Ntemba Road and it is approximately 9,2km long. It’s an interurban connector and it’s classed as an arterial road, which means it is in the second group of roads, the first being the regional roads,” he said.
Eng Dibidi said Luveve Road is an important route linking the city centre with most of the western suburbs which include Mpopoma, Matshobana, Lobengula, Entumbane, Emakhandeni right up to Luveve.
“Luveve Road is generally a two-way dual carriageway. We have a section from Masiyephambili to Ntemba which is a single carriageway. The road carries traffic which is in excess of 10 000 vehicles per day,” he said.
Eng Dibidi said their initial aim was to rehabilitate the entire 9,2km. However, due to funding constraints, they had to do the rehabilitation work in phases.
He said the local authority expects to complete the rehabilitation of the road by the end of September.
“Phase one is the Waverley Street to Nketa Drive which is about approximately 3,3km and this section had localised pavement failures. It had exhibited poor right quality, especially the area in the vicinity of Renkini and Matshobana,” Eng Dibidi.
Online Reporter