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Thupeyo Muleya, Beitbridge Bureau 

THE upgrading of the road linking Beitbridge Border Post and major inland cities including Bulawayo and Harare is nearing completion with the contractor saying it will be open to traffic at the end of this month. 

Civil works on the 5km stretch started more than a decade ago under the Beitbridge Redevelopment Program (BRP). 

However, the works have been progressing at a snail’s pace owing to a number of sectorial challenges within the arms of Government. 

Government has since engaged Bitumen World to fully implement the project which is also one of the major pillars to transform the border town into a medium city. 

 

The company’s site manager for Beitbridge, Mr Bigboy Sibindi said they moved on-site in November last year and that they had done more than 70 percent of the earthworks on the dual carriageway. 

“We are one of the contractors working on the Harare to Beitbridge road and we were fortunate to be given the tail end of the project,” said Mr Sibindi. 

“This portion includes part of the Beitbridge urban, where were are constructing a dual carriageway from the Border Post entry to a point where roads leading to Bulawayo and Harare meet. 

“So, we are almost completing civil works on this stretch of the road which should be fully opened to traffic at the end of May.” 

He said they had constructed a traffic circle (roundabout), at the point where the road branches to Bulawayo and Harare. 

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

“You will note that we had to work with other stakeholders to ensure that we don’t disturb the water and sewer reticulation network, telecoms, and electricity facilities,” said Mr Sibindi. 

He said civil works were being carried out at a faster pace in the rural component of Beitbridge, where there were fewer technical challenges. 

The contractor said they are now putting, final touches on the dual carriageway and expect to have fitted all the accessories on the road by the end of August. 

Mr Sibindi said they were now working on underground stormwater drains and cabbings on the dual road. 

“After that, we will open the road to traffic and we’re left with the surfacing.

Most of the works here on this stretch will be completed at the end of May while civil works will wind up in August. 

“We have phased the road construction works and in the urban area we are now on Phase 3B and have moved to Phase 4 on the rural side,” he said. 

He said to date they had covered a total of 71.3 km in terms of roads constructed under the Beitbridge district. 

Mr Sibindi said they had been able to work faster since most of the raw materials, especially the granite stone were readily available within Beitbridge district. –@tupeyo