THE Mbudzi roundabout in Harare will be closed for one and half years to enable the construction of a traffic interchange to proceed with minimum disruptions.
The roundabout is at the intersection of Simon Mazorodze, Chitungwiza and High Glen Roads that feed traffic from western Chitungwiza and many old and new Harare suburbs into Harare city centre as well as the heavy national and regional traffic on the Harare-Masvingo highway.
Construction work started last year at the roundabout which
had been a major choke-point of Southern Harare before Government committed
resources to turn it into an interchange as the Second Republic continues to
upgrade infrastructure to cope with modern demands and trends.
Transport and Infrastructure Development Minister Felix
Mhona gave a notice to close the roundabout in a Statutory Instrument published
in a Government Gazette last Friday.
“It is hereby notified that the Minister of Transport and
Infrastructural Development, in terms of section 30 of the Roads Act [Chapter
13:18], intends to close the portions of the road described hereunder and as
shown on the layout plan 1-ZW125-C167 for the purposes of construction of
Mbudzi Interchange.
“The portions of the roads described hereunder shall be
closed for a period of one and half years and the motoring public shall be
using diversion route: Malvern Road, Forbes Road, Hopely Road and Stoneridge
Road bypass Mbudzi,” said Minister Mhona.
Construction of detours is already at an advanced stage as
most of the alternative roads have been tarred, giving comfort to motorists who
ply the routes.
According to the Statutory Instrument, some of the roads to
be closed to allow construction of the interchange include those that
constitute the four legs into Mbudzi traffic circle for a distance 15
kilometres from the centre line of the traffic circle on all four legs with a
road reserve of 70 metres from the road centre line and on either side.
“A portion of Harare-Masvingo road at Mbudzi, 1,5
kilometres before the centre line of the traffic circle and 1,5 kilometres
after the traffic circle. A portion of Chitungwiza road 1,5 kilometres after
the traffic circle going to Chitungwiza. A portion of High Glen road 1,5
kilometres after the traffic circle going to High Glen,” reads the notice.
Minister Mhona called on those who might have an objection
to the closure to make representation at his office.
“The Minister of Transport and Infrastructural Development
hereby calls upon any person who wishes to object to the proposed closure to
lodge his or her objection at the offices of the Secretary for Transport and
Infrastructural Development, Office 90, 14th Floor or Office 72, 15th Floor,
Kaguvi Building, corner Simon Vengai Muzenda Street and Ahmed Ben Bella Avenue,
Harare within one month from the date of publication of this notice,” reads the
notice.
In an interview yesterday, Minister Mhona said the one and
half years was a contingent time frame that they will be working on.
“We can complete even earlier than that period. We have
just used 18 months as a contingent period,” said Minister Mhona.
In its efforts to develop the country into an upper
middle-income economy by 2030, the Second Republic led by President Mnangagwa
has invested significantly in the upgrade and rehabilitation of the country’s
road infrastructure.
Mbudzi roundabout had become a source of major
inconvenience to both domestic and international travellers where delays of up
to three hours during peak hours as well as traffic jams had become the order
of the day.
The new interchange comprises five large box culverts, one
river bridge, four grade separation bridges, mechanically stabilised earth
embarkments and asphalt paved loop roads and directional ramps.
It is envisaged that the interchange will also be adorned
with modern roadlights, CCTV, SATC compliant road signage and feature diversion
routes to form part of the permanent works.
Construction work is being done in line with regional
engineering standards and international best practices.
Funding of the project is being done through local
financial institutions while the contractor for the project is a joint venture
of three accomplished local road construction companies in the Zimbabwe built
environment namely Tensor Systems, Fossil Contracting and Masimba Construction
collectively coming under the banner of Tefoma Construction Joint venture.
Some of the benefits of the project include decongestion of
the Mbudzi area by creating streamlined and efficient traffic flow, reducing
transit time and accidents in the area.
The project is creating direct employment for over 700 employees
and downstream activities for over 10 000 people while creating skills transfer
and upgrade for the Department of Roads staff. Herald
0 comments:
Post a Comment