Mucheke, Chimusana bridges upgrading set for August

A CONTRACTOR who was awarded the tender to build the Mucheke and Chimusana bridges in Masvingo that are expected to end the city traffic congestion challenges says construction works are set to start next month.

The projects are being undertaken by Masimba Construction. The upgrading of the Chimusana bridge has been on the Masvingo City Council’s drawing board for long, as the local authority has been failing to raise the needed US$3 million.

The low lying bridge links Mucheke suburb to the Central Business District and will help ease congestion at the main Mucheke Bridge. Masvingo urban is going to see five new bridges being constructed, one at the existing Mucheke Bridge, two at Chimusana, one in Mucheke suburb and the other one just before Masvingo Polytechnic.

In an interview, Masimba Construction resident engineer, Eng Finale Mapurisa said designs for the new bridge adjacent to the existing Mucheke Bridge were nearing completion. He said works have approached Masvingo urban and the 20km dualisation is going to start from the 281,5 km up to the 292 km and a bypass that is going to be incorporated in Masvingo to cater for heavy vehicles and passing traffic that should not interfere with local traffic.

“The route of the bypass is going to turn at the 292 km peg popularly known as Croco Motors into Bradburn Street and crosses over Chimusana Bridge until it connects back into the Harare-Masvingo-Beitbridge highway. There are going to be additional bridge structures over and above the pavement construction. We are going to have a new bridge at Chevron at the existing Mucheke Bridge, we are going to have one bridge that is going to be separated into two bridges, one for the south bound and the other for the north bound over the popularly known Chimusana Bridge. We are going to have one bridge over the road to Mucheke township known as Charumbira Road; our bypass is going to be taken over that road and is not going to be a level crossing. Lastly we are going to have the last bridge which is part of a ramp off as we are connecting back into the Beitbridge highway,” he said.

Eng Mapurisa said the centre lines for the bypass and the bridge structures have already been marked.

“The design for the bridge adjacent to the existing Mucheke Bridge is almost complete and works are set to commence on the second or third week of August. We have decided to start with that bridge so that we decongest traffic that is already congesting the Mucheke Bridge,” he said.