Spaghetti road 20 percent behind schedule
Chakalisa Dube | Wednesday May 25, 2016 16:54
The construction of the interchange is said to be significantly behind schedule according to senior officials in the city.
There have been complaints from various stakeholders in the city that the construction of the junction has caused unbearable traffic in the city centre particularly during peak hours.
Most notably, public transport operators have bemoaned that the traffic jam caused by the construction of the interchange has negatively affected their business. “The interchange is at 39.7 percent against the planned 60.5 percent physical status,” city mayor, Sylvia Muzila told an ordinary full council meeting on Monday. “However, more details on the progress will be presented in the Urban Development Plan committee report.
The interchange, which has gathered much fanfare because of its uniqueness, is supposed to be complete in August, which is highly unlikely based on the current status of the project.
A few months ago the minister of transport and communications, Tshenolo Mabeo expressed worry at the slow pace of the project during his tour of the project.
A visibly concerned Mabeo pleaded with the contractor ‘China Railway Seventh Group’ to deliver the interchange on time.
The company has also blamed relocation of services as one of the main reasons the project is behind. At the time the company stated that key components of the project have been completed and it would soon engage more workers in a bid to speed up completion of the project.
The Francistown-Tonota road dual carriageway, which was supposed to have been completed late last year, is 98 percent complete according to the mayor who expressed optimism that the project will be completed soon.
Little was said regarding the Gerald Estates Junior Secondary School, which is also behind schedule. In February the project was at 72 percent though it was supposed to have been completed at the time. The project is supposed to be handed over in June this year. The progress on the Gerald JSS will be presented in the UDC report as well.