Find your route to Masvingo as Mbudzi closes for I...

Find your route to Masvingo as Mbudzi closes for Interchange construction

Zim Now Writer

Malvern Road diversion – NB this is just a guide and not an accurate typographic presentation of route

Mbudzi Traffic Circle is being closed for construction work and for the next 18 months, traffic will be using diversions that are already in place, Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development has advised.

“The portions of the roads hereunder shall be closed for a period of one and half years and the motoring public shall be using diversion routes, Malvern Road, Forbes Road, Hopley Road, and Stoneridge Road,” the ministry said in a statement.

The ministry says following the gazetting of General Notice 1173 of 2022, they will be closing portions of Harare-Masvingo Road, Chitungwiza Road and High Glen Road at Mbudzi traffic circle for the purposes of construction of Mbudzi Interchange with effect from September 18.

The US$88 million Mbudzi Traffic Interchange is the biggest project of the nature undertaken by Zimbabwe and involves complex engineering, being implemented under the second phase of the Emergency Road Rehabilitation Programme (ERRP2).

All four roads branching from the intersection will be closed for 1.5km. For the past few weeks informed road users have been using the diversion routes now in place to avoid traffic snarls at Mbudzi.

Traffic bound for Masvingo highway or inbound from same is diverting through the Malvern Road route.

The multi-lane freeway also gives access Chitungwiza, Hopely, and other suburbs along the Masvingo highway. There are traffic lights at several points along the route which should ensure reasonably smooth flow even during peak periods.

Mbudzi Roundabout traffic jams had become notorious with motorists reporting being stuck for four hours or more.

Millions of vehicles use the traffic circle as it services commuter traffic including populated areas like Chitungwiza, Glen Norah, vehicles bound for the southern route towards Beatrice, Chivhu, Mvuma, Masvingo as well as proving the gateway to South Africa through Beitbridge.

Sheer volumes of traffic have been overwhelming the circle. Vehicles breaking down and road crashes within the circle as drivers tried to compete for passage also regularly contributed chaos.

Unregulated traffic drop-off and pick up points further limited traffic flow as the pirate vehicle drivers blocked some lanes forcing all other vehicles to filter into single lanes.

Drivers stopping to buy various items from the makeshift roadside stalls added to the mayhem. Police officers have often had to step in to untangle snarls and try their best to keep traffic moving.

In 2016 Government of Zimbabwe contracted DNMZ, a South African engineering consultancy to design Mbudzi Interchange but could not secure resources for the project.

In 2021 local company, Fossil Mines approached the Government of Zimbabwe and offered funding leading to a loan agreement. Since inception the development is progressing well with the interchange expected to be commissioned by end of April 2024.

The contractor, Tefoma Joint Venture is a consortium of Tensor, Fossil Contracting and Masimba Construction, three of the biggest construction firms in Zimbabwe.