Massive rehabilitation of more major roads on cards
MAJOR roads, flyovers and bridges, along with mini interchanges along roads in and around Harare that link with the US$88 million Mbudzi Traffic Interchange, are being rehabilitated or constructed, Transport and Infrastructural Development Minister Felix Mhona has said.
Julius Nyerere Way, for example, will be closed to traffic in the next few weeks to allow major works on the main road which runs through the city centre.
Minister Mhona said by July 31, Government is targeting to complete the VVIP pavilion at Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport and open up the domestic terminal and more sections of the international terminal.
“From there, we are also going to open up some of the roads that lead to the new Parliament in Mount Hampden. We have a road called Chairman Mao Boulevard Road which will stretch from Bindura Road straight to Parliament. It will have eight lanes (four on the right side and four on the left side) and all this will be done by mid-year.
“The good thing about giving ourselves targets is that we can measure ourselves. So we will be having a complete road network,” he said.
“From here at Mbudzi Interchange as we move to Chitungwiza, the contractor will rehabilitate the road to Manyame River Bridge and from there we will proceed to Wedza Road. The other road has already been reconstructed and we are gravitating towards Makoni. And from here, we are also going to have a dualisation partly towards Kuwadzana roundabout and at the roundabout we are going to have a mini interchange and then we will go straight into Solomon Mujuru (former Kirkman) Drive.”
Other mini interchanges are also going to be constructed at Rothmans, ZBC and another one at an existing bridge which will be Mbare mini interchange.
The existing bridges are also set to be rehabilitated and other roads in the city, all this by mid-year.
Government has so far injected US$45 million towards the construction of the Mbudzi Traffic Interchange, which is now 55 percent complete and is set to be completed by the end of July this year.