The Sunday News
THE Bulawayo City Council (BCC) has embarked on a major road rehabilitation drive that will see the local authority reconstructing, overlaying and resealing 29 roads around the city next year.
According to a council report, the municipality has already embarked on this major drive which is expected to cost a total of $5 465 636.
The 2015 road rehabilitation drive is part of BCC’s road infrastructure rehabilitation project and comes in the backdrop of reports that the local authority has completed the rehabilitation of over 193 kilometres of roads in the city.
Early this year, the local authority reported that over 70 percent of its road infrastructure needed urgent attention.
However, the project has been faced with a number of challenges, chief among them the unavailability of funds and various other logistical problems.
“There was a shortage of bitumen to produce hot mix at the batching plant. Zinara failed to supply while the tender advertised by Council to purchase bitumen is at the adjudication stage, the tender for the resealing of roads closed on 7 October 2014 with works expected to be completed this financial year.
“The surfacing of the Tshabalala kombi route was 90 percent complete. Currently earthworks were 100 percent complete on Nkulumane Drive, the order for surfacing had been issued to the contractor, reconstruction programme had been altered to accommodate Benjamin Burombo Road, this road was one of the routes for Region Five Under-20 Youth Games,” reads part of the report.
The roads that are set to be rehabilitated next year include Gwabalanda Drive (Huggins to Intemba Road) in ward 16, Mbundane Road (ward 26), Market Road (Nketa Drive to Siyepambili – Ward 13), Mazwi Road (B. B. Burombo to Siyepambili Ward 12), Bilston Road (Ward six), Jungle road (Cosmos to Falls Road – Ward Two), sections of Circular Drive, which falls under both ward four and five, Shapland road (ward four), Churchill road (Goderich to Plumtree road – ward six), Ematsheni (Percy Ibboston to Maunga Shops – Ward 11), Kabalanto (ward 15), Andrea Drive (ward Three) and Mahatshula Road in ward three all that will be reconstructed.
Roads that will be over laid include 12th Avenue (Fort Street to Samuel Parirenyatwa Street – Ward One), Doncaster (Bristol Road South to 23rd Avenue – Ward Six), R Mugabe Way (Leopold Takawira to Fifth Avenue – Ward One), Queens Road (Masotsha Avenue to Airport Road – Ward Two), Fort Street (6th Avenue to 11th Avenue – Ward One), the intersection of Netherby and Airport Road shared by Wards Two and Three, Airport Road (Collenbrander to Netherby) and all the intersections in the city.
In terms of resealing the local authority will work on Siyephambili (Hyde Park to Khami – Ward 12 and 27), Hyde Park (Siyephambili to Mehlokazulu – Wards 27, 19, 18 and 17), Cecil Avenue (Intundla to Harare Rd – Wards Four and Five), Burns/Philips Drive (Hillside Rd to Old Esigodini – Ward Four), Pumula South Main Road (ward 27), Nketa 7 Main Road (Ward 25), Goderich (Ward Six) and Coghlan Avenue in Ward Three.
According to the costs breakdown, the road reconstruction project is expected to cost $ 2 118 500, overlaying; $1 202 010 and the resealing will cost $ 2 145 126 this bringing the overall total to $ 5 465 636.
Commenting on these developments Bulawayo Mayor Councillor Martin Moyo said although the local authority was facing a hard time in terms of finding the necessary finances the city’s roads needed urgent attention hence the move to set themselves targets.
“It is no secret that our roads are in a bad state and this will worsen with the onset of the rain season. I, however, commend our engineering department for the great strides they have been making to cover as much kilometres as possible and with funds permitting I am sure we will fulfil our mandate,” said Clr Moyo.
The latest developments come at a time when residents and motorists in the city were up in arms with the local authority over the ever deteriorating state of the city’s road infrastructure.
