TANROADS begins measures to ease Morogoro Road congestion

KIBAHA: AS the government prepares strategies for constructing an expressway between Mailimoja in Kibaha Municipal Council, Coast Region and Morogoro Region through Chalinze Council, the Tanzania National Roads Agency (TANROADS) Coast Regional Office has started measures to reduce congestion along the busy Morogoro Road.

Stretching from Dar es Salaam to Tunduma in Mbeya Region, the road serves as a key transport corridor linking the southern highlands, northern regions and neighbouring countries, including Kenya, Uganda, Zambia, Burundi, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Due to increased production activities, daily traffic volumes have risen sharply. A study conducted in June this year shows that 29,955 vehicles pass through the Kibaha Mailimoja area daily.

Of these, 9,766 vehicles are heavy lorries, accounting for 36 per cent of all traffic using the road.

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TANROADS Coast Regional Manager, Engineer Baraka Mwambage, told the Daily News that rehabilitation of the old Morogoro Road, covering 66.11 kilometres on the Coast Region side, has already commenced as part of congestion-reduction strategies.

“The estimated cost of rehabilitating the road to gravel standard is 6.8bn/-. So far, about 20 per cent of the work has been completed,” he said.

Completed works include road shaping along 27.6 kilometres from Kibaha Mailimoja to Ruvu Ranch, laying gravel on a 2.7-kilometre stretch from Kibaha Mailimoja to TAMCO and installation of 80-metre-long culverts.

The rehabilitation works are expected to be completed by March next year.