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Thupeyo Muleya–Beitbridge Bureau

The upgrading of the 5km road linking the transformed Beitbridge Border Post to the Y-junction where the roads to Bulawayo and Harare split has been completed by the Government, with a dual carriageway carrying the entire north-south traffic. 

Beitbridge is going through a massive transformation, as the Second Republic presses ahead with its plans to transform the town into a medium city. 

Civil works on the 5km stretch started more than a decade ago under the Beitbridge Redevelopment Programme but were progressing at a snail’s pace. 

Bitumen World was contracted by the Government less than 18 months ago to fully implement the project. 

“This is splendiferous work. What is only left is for us to have street lights along that road and install some LED adverts. This will create a good impression of the town at night,” said Beitbridge Mayor Councillor Munyaradzi Chitsunge. 

A resident of Beitbridge, Mrs Kiliboni Ndou said she was impressed with the workmanship and the speed at which the project had been implemented by the Government. 

She said the road has given the town a new look and has helped decongest the highway which previously had only two lanes. The road has four lanes running from the border for 5km. 

“As a resident and motorists, I am impressed with this project. It is a life saver to all road users,” said Mrs Ndou. 

“With more lanes having been opened, we expect to see a reduction in road traffic accidents. In addition, as motorists we celebrate because bad roads have a negative effect on the wear and tear of vehicles”. 

Ward 5 Councillor, Mr Granger Nyoni, said the Government had done a good job in upgrading the road. 

He said they were looking forward to the completion of ancillary accessories which include speed limits, street lights and pedestrian crossing points. 

Clr Nyoni said he was impressed that taxpayers’ money had been committed to the construction of a state of the art road in Beitbridge which is the face of Zimbabwe to those coming through the port of entry.

“It is pleasing to note that the government means business. A road that took many years not to complete has been done in a short space of time. This is the best road ever in Beitbridge town,” said a motorist Miss Netsai Chikwanda. 

Beitbridge Residents Association chairperson Mr Lawrence Tshili said the Government had invested a lot in upgrading Beitbridge road through the emergency roads programme. 

Bitumen World site engineer Tinotenda Hove, recently said they moved on-site in November 2021 and had done more than 100 percent of the civil works on the dual carriageway.

“We have opened the whole 5km to traffic. That is between the border post and the roads leading to Harare and Bulawayo,” said Eng Hove. 

“At the moment we are seized with ancillary works including installing street-lights, cabling, paving, and sprucing up the two traffic circles. The two unique traffic circles will have Great Zimbabwe Monument conical towers at the top which will be 6 meters high and 6 meters wide”. 

He said although the dual carriageway appeared to be shorter, it took much time to complete because there were a lot of critical services accessories cutting through the road. 

The contractor had to work with other stakeholders to avoid disrupting telecoms, electricity and water and sewer connections. 

Eng Hove said they were now working on underground storm water drains and 18km of kerbings on the dual road and the pedestrian walkways on either side of the road.

“The kerbings are for preventing trucks from moving out of the highway. We have put 18 km of cabbings we are laying on the dual carriageway and we are almost done,” he said. 

“At all major junctions and traffic circles, we put interlocking pavers (g-blocks) instead of concrete which help with the turning effect of heavy vehicles and diesel spillages. Since we came here, we realised there were trucks queuing for more than 2km from the border, so we had to put a third lane on the design, which will have interlocking pavers to accommodate heavy trucks.”