Motorists who use Luveve Road have implored the local authority to speed up the process of rehabilitating the road as the closure of some sections is inconvenient and is causing a lot of accidents.
The road was partially closed in January when BCC embarked on a rehabilitation project to patch potholes and do other works comprising localized pavement reconstruction, overlays, reinstating of carriageway markings, drainage and other general maintenance works.
The rehabilitation works cover the stretch between Waverly Street and Intemba Drive.
CITE interviewed motorists who use the road on a regular basis and they expressed displeasure with the amount of time that has been taken to fix the road.
The city council had initially projected that the work would be done by May 31 but due to ‘unforeseen ground conditions’ the project’s completion date remains uncertain.
Kombi drivers who use the road on a regular basis said the temporary closure of the road has become an inconvenience, especially during peak hours.
Mncedisi Sibanda, a driver, said it is now difficult to pick up and drop off passengers on the affected areas and this causes traffic jams and accidents.
“Luveve Road is a very busy road that should not have been closed for such a long time. During peak hour, as you approach Renkini you realise that there are no safe dropping off and pick up points. We end up doing that on the road and it is not safe,” Sibanda said.
“The amount of time we take manoeuvring around that stretch affects the passengers as well, they delay reaching their destinations. If there is one car that has a breakdown there, there would be chaos as sometimes there may be a traffic jam stretching as far back as the Machipsini bus stop. We really hope that the city council will speed up the rehabilitation process because that is not a road to close for a long time.”
Another motorist who identified himself as Nyathi said some motorists now use roads that are near people’s houses as means of dealing with the traffic jam.
“At some areas drivers end up using other paths close to people’s houses avoiding the traffic jam. This puts people’s lives in danger. Even on the main road that we use, the roads are now too narrow and it’s a hustle for people to cross. We implore the council to finish the work early,” Nyathi said.
Mlamuli Ndlovu, another driver, said the time that’s being taken is too long.
“We do appreciate that they are fixing the road, but we would appreciate it if they sped up the process. We can’t even ask them when they will finish because when they started they did not tell us anything. We were not given any dates as to when they will finish. We just see them busy here but we hope they will finish soon because this is now becoming an inconvinience,” he said.
