HWANGE – Road contractors upgrading the Bulawayo–Victoria Falls highway have warned that the continued movement of overloaded haulage trucks – mainly carrying coal from Hwange – is destroying newly rehabilitated sections, threatening the lifespan of the road. Masimba Contractors and Fossil Contracting — two of the companies working on different sections of the road — said overloaded trucks remain the most severe and costly form of damage to the rehabilitated stretches, outstripping weather and technical delays. A Masimba representative said the installation of weighbridges was now a needed critical intervention.
“Weighbridges should be installed. This road will not last if you don’t do that intervention. The trucks are really killing this road,” the official said, adding that some transporters were reportedly hauling up to 50 tonnes instead of the permitted 30 tonnes.
“Once they know there are no controls, they overload. Then the road fails and people say contractors did a bad job.” Fossil Contracting raised similar concerns during an earlier inspection of its section of the highway, saying trucks are over loading and are damaging the roads and something should be done. Road engineers say overloaded trucks accelerate rutting, cracking and base failure — forcing repeated maintenance costs and reducing the life of rehabilitated sections by years.
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The transport ministry says weighbridge systems are being set up along the route, but contractors insist enforcement — not just infrastructure — will determine the success of the intervention. “We should not wait for the Vehicle Inspection Department only. Let’s be responsible citizens,” said transport ministry secretary Joy Makumbe during a media tour last week.
The government has appointed five companies to resurface the Bulawayo-Victoria Falls Road which had become unusable after years of neglect. The contractors say they hope to finish relaying the entire stretch of nearly 440km of road by December 2026.
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