Chitungwiza road upgrade underway

Rehabilitation and widening works on Chitungwiza Road, which links the dormitory town to the Trabablas Interchange, are now underway, a development welcomed by motorists and commuters who have long endured congestion along the busy route.

A local contractor has moved on site to begin works aimed at improving traffic flow on one of Harare's key arterial connections.

The road, which stretches about 6.6 kilometres, connects Chitungwiza through industrial areas and links into major routes including High Glen Road and Bulawayo Road via the US$88 million Trabablas Interchange.

It also serves as an alternative corridor for diverting heavy traffic away from Harare's central business district through the Mbudzi interchange system.

Part of the road was previously rehabilitated under the Emergency Road Rehabilitation Programme (ERRP2), with works carried out by Syvern Contracting from the Manyame River Bridge up to the Tilcor Road intersection.

The works fall under the wider Emergency Road Rehabilitation Programme (ERRP2), which was launched in 2021 as a response to widespread road damage caused by years of underinvestment and extreme weather conditions, including Cyclone Idai in 2019.

The programme has since been extended to 2026, with government framing it as part of a long-term infrastructure renewal strategy aligned with Vision 2030.

According to official figures, more than 50,000 kilometres of roads and about 2,000 structures have been attended to since the programme began.

Zimbabwe's estimated road network is about 90,000 kilometres, with authorities indicating that around 93% was previously in fair or poor condition and in need of rehabilitation or maintenance.

The ERRP2 initiative includes pothole patching, resealing, culvert construction, grading, re-gravelling, and full road reconstruction works across the country.

Government says the programme has also generated employment opportunities, with hundreds of workers engaged across various road rehabilitation sites nationwide.

Officials maintain that ongoing upgrades, including the Chitungwiza Road works, are intended to improve mobility, reduce congestion, and support Zimbabwe's ambition of becoming a regional logistics hub.