The Sunday Mail
Leroy Dzenga
Senior Reporter
SAM Nujoma Extension, the road which connects Harare and traffic from its northern suburbs and the rest of Zimbabwe through the Mashonaland Central artery, is the proverbial valley of the shadow of death.
Anything can happen on that road, formerly known as Second Street.
It has a questionable design, which, coupled with the imprudent driving in Harare has resulted in many road accidents, some fatal.
The speed lane (inner lane), occupying the right side of the road does not filter to the right, which makes turning to the right from second street complicated.
Vehicles have to grind to a halt in a lane designed for fast-moving traffic, leading to crashes.
Engineers have confirmed what the motoring public had already feared, Sam Nujoma Extension has a design flaw.
Civil and Structural Engineer Kennedy Kanguru studied the road when he was doing research for his BSc Honours in Civil Engineering at the University of Zimbabwe.
His findings, from the research titled Channelization of Second Street intersections, were that there is a problem with “the geometric design of that road.”
He said it is not ideal that a road as busy as Sam Nujoma Extension does not have turning lanes.
“…with Sam Nujoma road intersections, vehicles attempting to turn right are forced to wait in the inner lane which is usually reserved for fast-moving traffic. This sometimes causes frustration to some impatient drivers who end up switching lanes resulting in collisions,” Engineer Kanguru told The Sunday Mail.
Many property owners in the Belgravia, Alexandra Park, Avondale and Ashbrittle area have changed their property uses.What used to be residential properties in the 1980s, are now offices, restaurants and miniscule business parks.
“When the road was initially designed the small roads connecting to Sam Nujoma (Natal, Phillips, Duthie, Bath, Lanark) were not so busy so it was still (though discouraged) somewhat acceptable to not have turning lanes. However, with the expansion of the CBD and people having businesses and offices in these areas, the small streets have now become more and more busy and more vehicles now need to turn from Sam Nujoma,” said Engineer Kanguru.
Traffic intensity, which is measured in PCU (passenger car unit) rises to as high as 1800 PCU per hour during peak hours.
“During this time you can have up to eight vehicles queuing trying to turn right from Sam Nujoma,” he said.
However, the situation is said to be salvageable.
“It can be solved by widening the road at intersections and then adding a 5th turning lane. Yards do not even have to be trimmed, as they are at a distance from the roads. There is a servitude of approximately 15 metres from the end of a yard to the shoulder of the road. A single lane needs approximately three metres so that means we need just an extra 1, 5 metres from both sides to add a fifth turning lane,” said Engineer Kanguru.
He said although the road can be widened near intersections in the face of budgetary constraints, the best remedy would be to widen the whole stretch so there can be five lanes with the middle lane reserved as a waiting lane for turning vehicles.
Sam Nujoma Extension has seven intersections where the road cuts across Duthie, Downie, Elsworth, Natal, Phillips, Bath and Lanark.
About 96 percent of the traffic along Sam Nujoma Extension are light vehicles, while heavy vehicles and buses make up the remaining four percent.
Even authorities are aware that the road is dangerous.
Along the road there are signs written “High Accidents Zone,” this is due to the bends and lane discrepancy.
The City of Harare acknowledges that there are grounds to consider a redesign.
In an interview, Harare City Council acting spokesperson Mr Innocent Ruwende said the city’s Department of Works has been looking into ways to improve the road.
“It appears our option would be to reduce the size of some of the lanes, to allow the creation of turning lanes. If the present lanes are above four metres for one direction, we can reduce them to create another lane which would be the turning lane. That seems to be the case from early assessments,” said Mr Ruwende.
Researcher and writer, Mr Jonathan Waters who wrote the book, Harare –A photographic history which traces the history of Harare from 1890 to 2015 said there is a history of roads that got altered as the city grew.
“There were several road changes around there – you will see East Road ends by the National Ballet – that used to go the whole way through to Aberdeen, but was blocked when the intersection was upgraded, no doubt as they were building the section out to Lomagundi,” said Mr Waters.
The design flaw could have been a legacy issue, as those who controlled the production of knowledge during the days of original design did not anticipate the vehicle population to reach where it is today.
“Certainly the level of traffic in the 1960s would not have justified turning lanes. Having a car was a privilege, and many whites in the low density suburbs could not afford one and would have taken the bus. There certainly is a need for turning lanes today, and a traffic department that responds to public need in the interests of safety would no doubt have undertaken that work. The road reservation is still big enough,” said Mr Waters.
There could be a need for the City of Harare to reassess the design and appropriateness of their roads, beyond Sam Nujoma Extension.
Other roads said to be in need of similar attention in Harare are Churchill road and some sections of Lomagundi road, which is anticipating a spike in traffic when the new city grows in Mount Hampden.
Zimbabwe is currently witnessing the upgrading of roads under the second phase of the Emergency Road Rehabilitation Programme. This could be a chance for the local authority to assess their road designs.
Precedence has shown that adjustments to roads can drastically improve the driving experience and reduce accidents.
The Harare-Masvingo highway used to have single lanes which could not adequately service the traffic. Since its widening, early signs are that the prevalence of fatal accidents on the road is reducing.
Residents of Harare and those who use the road frequently dread driving along Sam Nujoma Extension, as there are no guarantees for safety on this corridor of anxiety.
