Amanda Khumalo
The vital construction of Mbudzi Interchange Flyover in Southern Harare is expected to start very soon with contractors moving on site today to work on the detour roads for diversion of the perennial heavy streams of traffic using the grossly congested roundabout.
Mbudzi roundabout is at the intersection of Simon Mazorodze, Chitungwiza and High Glen Roads that feed traffic from western Chitungwiza and many old and new suburbs into Harare city centre as well as the heavy national and regional traffic on the Harare-Masvingo highway.
In recent years, the roundabout has seen traffic lock-jams especially during morning and evening peak hours that see much of this traffic having to go two thirds of the way around the roundabout, basically blocking those on other roads from even accessing the roundabout.
The construction of the flyover at Mbudzi has been given as the only solution to the roundabout congestion for some years, but has now been moved from a potential municipal works to a Government project with financing being largely part of the financing arrangements for the upgrade of the final phase of the Beitbridge-Masvingo-Harare highway as the roundabout is easily the largest bottleneck on this highway.
Harare provincial roads engineer Ernest Shenje noted that Amalinda and Gumbi roads are going to be used as the detour during the construction of interchange at Mbudzi roundabout. The project will be handed over to the contractors tomorrow and are expected to take less than two weeks to bring equipment on site.
To-date more than 35 contractors have been engaged. Besides Amalinda and Gumbi Roads, the Government is working on the major repairs needed to Boshoff Drive, Kevin Road, Chiremba Road, Glen Eagles Road, Willowvale Road, Coventry Road, Josiah Tongogara Avenue, St Georges Rod, Madokero Road, part of Harare Drive, High Glen Road, Lytton Road and the route through the centre of Mabvuku and Tafara.
The construction of Mbudzi Interchange flyover is a three-year programme which will end in 2023. The project is set to employ over a thousand people.
