Story by John Nhandara
THE rehabilitation of the Harare-Kanyemba Highway is gaining momentum, with an 18.3-kilometre stretch from Harare to Mazowe now dualised and open to traffic.
The completed dualised section forms part of the broader rehabilitation, which seeks to transform the 354-kilometre corridor into a modern and efficient transit artery.
“This is a good development we are witnessing, and we want to thank the President for such an initiative,” a community member said.
“This road will reduce travel time to countries like Zambia,” a motorist said.
“This road has transformed a lot, and we thank the government for that,” a traveller said.
Government has already indicated there will be an escalation of road rehabilitation protects following the extension of the Emergency road rehabilitation programme up to the end of December this year.
“We have already descended on the Harare Kanyemba highway, where work is ongoing. But not only that road, but also other roads that include the Bulawayo Victoria Falls road. The idea is to make sure our roads are trafficable,” the Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Development Honourable Felix Mhona said.
Meanwhile, government has also shifted its attention to repairing intra-city roads that have been damaged by the rains.
“Most of our roads have been damaged by incessant rains we witnessed in the past, but we are now repairing most of our roads through pothole patching. We have already acquired asphalt plants which will boost our capacity to repair our roads,” Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure Development Director of Roads Engineer Jarawani Kangara said.
Under the national development strategy, government rehabilitated over 54 000 kilometres of the country’s road network.
