Discovery of high water table slows repair of Luveve road

Bulawayo City Council (BCC) has revealed that the completion of the road rehabilitation works on the Renkini stretch of Luveve road has been slowed due to the discovery of a high water table that was not detected during preliminary investigations of the site.

BCC is currently rehabilitating parts of the critical sections of Luveve road from Lobengula street to Intemba road with the project priced at US$1.2 million.

During a site visit to Luveve Road on Friday, BCC Acting Principal Operations Engineer Lukeout Ndlovu told CITE that the finding of expanding material on that road had slowed down progress.

“The challenges that we faced working on the Renkini section is expansive material that we discovered. There is a high-water table and in addition to that we have encountered a lot of cable lines that provide services such as sewer lines, electricity cables, reclaimed water lines and water lines that were not detected during the investigations period. This has slowed down our progress,” he revealed.

Engineer Ndlovu stated that the road works would now be completed on May 31, 2023.

“We are currently repairing the west bound section of Renkini road. The earthworks are approximately 400 metres, having reached the top base. However, we have faced challenges working from this section, which has extended the duration of the works which we approximated to eight weeks and now we have extended that by further seven weeks,” he said. 

The engineer also mentioned working during the wet season as a challenge.

“The rains stalled us quite significantly, but the works are on course for the new completion deadline of May 31,” he said.

To address the high water table, Engineer Ndlovu said workers were working on the french drain, which is a trench filled with a perforated pipe and gravel that allows water to drain naturally.

“We have done the trenches for the french drain and are in the process of hauling the stones in order to sort them out on site,” he said.

Meanwhile, Engineer Ndlovu said workers have completed the Matshobana section of the Luveve road, where approximately 200 metres of road reconstruction was done.

“What is outstanding is the overlay surfacing and overlaying the extents to a distance of 500 metres,” he said, adding that BCC had put up measures to provide safety for the motoring public.

“To make sure there is safety of the motoring public , pedestrians and  work force during the works, the following transport measures will be in place during the construction period: having a full carriageway closure of the section with traffic diverted accordingly. Detours have been created to help ease congestion on the east bound lane which is open for traffic. We also have lane closures where it is necessary, that is the Renkini section and Matshobana section. We have put up speed humps and no stopping signs within the works.”

Engineer Ndlovu also urged the motoring and the general public to exercise extreme caution when entering and leaving the construction works area, and observe all warning signs.