| A5 road | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
| Country | Zimbabwe |
| Highway system | |
The A5 Highway is a national road in Zimbabwe. It joins the cities of Harare and Bulawayo, and is hence known as the Harare-Bulawayo Highway. It is one of the two routes that form the R2 Route, which connects Harare with the Plumtree Border with Botswana.
It has a total length of approximately 439 kilometres (273 mi).
In Harare the Highways begins as an extension of Samora Machel Avenue (west). You can pick it from Harare Show Grounds roundabout. 17°49′46″S31°01′59″E / 17.829466°S 31.032936°E However the A5 begins at the right T-Junction with Mutley Bend (road) where Samora Machel Avenue ends. This is at the parkade popularly called China City.
In Bulawayo, A5 is called First Avenue at its intersection with Samuel Parirenyatwa Street. 20°08′49″S28°35′31″E / 20.146929°S 28.591940°E
The road joins Harare-- Chegutu-- Kadoma-- Kwekwe -- Gweru and ends in Bulawayo [1] [2]
| Stage | Logo | Settlement | Flag | Class | Province | Remarks | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #01 |  | Harare |  | city | Harare Province | National Capital | |
| #02 | Chegutu | - | town | Mashonaland West | |||
| #03 | Kadoma | - | city | Mashonaland West | |||
| #04 |  | Kwekwe | - | city | Midlands Province | ||
| #05 | Gweru | city | Midlands | Provincial Capital | |||
| #06 |  | Bulawayo |  | city | Bulawayo Provincial | Capital. National second largest city. | |
| Stage | Logo | Name | Harare | Chegutu | Kadoma | Kwekwe | Gweru | Bulawayo | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #01 | | Harare | 000 | 106 | 141 | 213 | 275 | 439 | |
| #02 | Chegutu | 106 | 000 | 35 | 107 | 169 | 333 | ||
| #03 | Kadoma | 141 | 35 | 000 | 72 | 134 | 298 | ||
| #04 | | Kwekwe | 213 | 107 | 72 | 000 | 62 | 226 | |
| #05 | Gweru | 275 | 169 | 134 | 62 | 000 | 164 | ||
| #06 | | Bulawayo | 439 | 333 | 298 | 226 | 164 | 000 | |
A5 Highway is not a toll-free road. There are 5 toll plazas on the highway.
Source: [Daily News zw.] [3]
Table shows highway running from Harare to Bulawayo (Harare being the first stage and Bulawayo the last stage).
| Toll Plaza | Back Stage | Nect Stage | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Norton | Harare | Chegutu & Kadoma | ||
| * | ||||
| Kadoma | Kadoma & Chegutu | Kwekwe | ||
| * | ||||
| Gweru North | Kwekwe | Gweru | ||
| * | ||||
| Treetops (Gweru South) | Gweru | Shangani | ||
| * | ||||
| Ntabazinduna | Shangani | Bulawayo |
| Vehicle Class | Toll (US$) | |
|---|---|---|
| Motor Cycles | 0 | |
| Light motor | 2 | |
| Kombies | 3 | |
| Minibuses | 3 | |
| Buses | 4 | |
| Heavy Motor | 5 |
There are several national highways as well as secondary highways connecting the A5 to highways elsewhere. Here are a few important ones.
The 77-kilometre (47.85-mile) Ngezi-Selous Road popularly known as Platinum Highway is a 9-metre (9.84-yard) highway in Zimbabwe built for a platinum mining organization and public transport. It is best well kept road in Zimbabwe by all standards.
It branches left (south) at the Selous, popularly known as Halfway roundabout 75 km southwest of Harare and 31 km northeast of Chegutu. 18°04′46″S30°25′39″E / 18.079454°S 30.42758°E
Public Omnibuses are advised to use other roads because numerous abnormal load trucks use this road 24/7.
The road was originally a secondary gravel road until the mining company decided to upgrade it for business viability.
Having seen that on-site underground mining at the Zimplats’ Hartley Platinum Mine was no longer viable, management replaced it by a new open-cast operation at Ngezi Mine. The Ngezi-Selous sealed highway was then constructed at a cost of to US$17 million to link the Ngezi Platinum Group metals mine and the Selous Metallurgical Complex which are about 78 km apart.
The highway was the biggest and fastest road construction contract ever undertaken in Zimbabwe. Its construction began on 14 May 2001 and handed over to the Ministry of Transport on 29 November 2001 for commissioning. [4] [5]
Chegutu-Chinhoyi Road is a primary paved road officially called the P13 Highway or P13 Road. It makes a right hand (north) T-Junction with the A5 about 500 metres east of Chegutu CBD. 18°07′30″S30°08′46″E / 18.125022°S 30.14611°E
It runs northerly 92 km to Chinhoyi where it connects to A1 Highway.
When travelling to Kariba from any place around Kadoma, Kwekwe, Gweru, Zvishavane or even Bulawayo, this is the shortest and fastest link road.
Its main feeder road is the Murombedzi Road which branches to the right (east) at about 46.5 kilometres (28.9 mi) (by air). 17°42′29″S30°10′44″E / 17.708027°S 30.178844°E
The road passes through Msengezi Purchase Area, Zvimba Communal Land and Chitombarwizi Purchase Area before reaching Chinhoyi.
Major bridges on this road across the Mupfure River, Msengezi river on the border of Msengezi Purchase Area with Zvimba Communal Land. Muswakadzi River at the beginning of Chitomborwiri Purchase Area.
This is the shortest link route from Harare to Gokwe through to Binga. However the road has numerous potholes especially on the section after Munyati River Bridge to Sidakeni Shopping Center.
In rainy seasons the Munyati River Bridge on this road may be flooded.
This road branches to the right (west) about 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) north of Kwekwe. After Gokwe this road eventually takes you to Binga.
There are several roads that connect with A5 in the City of Gweru that include:
Source map: [AA Road Map 1985] [6]
The A5Highway passes across a few major rivers along its route.
The rate of unemployment in Zimbabwe is so high and the so-called self-help projects have multiplied, some of them a nuisance to motorists.
It is not only in the capital that touts are a problem. Waypoints are massed with vendors and pirate taxies touts who swarm any vehicle that stops by. They however are usually harmless but visitors might not be comfortable with them.
Motorists are advised to stop and park at designated parking places. [7] [8]
The road is now under threat from mining activities because in some sections of the road illegal gold panning is so bad that the Environmental Management Agency (EMA) has engaged the Ministries of Mines and Mining Development and the Ministry of Home Affairs to assist in bringing sanity to the illegal mining operations along the highway, especially in the Kwekwe District. The area between Munyati River has seen the wrath of illegal miners and EMA fears the highway might be affected. The A5 Highway had its shoulders widened recently, an investment worth $206 million. [9]
These illegal gold panners have been seen to operate from just one metre from the road shoulders yet mining laws allow mining activities to take place at least 25 metres from the shoulders of the road. Wide road shoulders might deter the illegal miners from coming to close to the highway from underground. In recent years right in the city of Kwekwe illegal gold miners dug and emerged from underneath a classroom at Globe and Phoenix Primary School.
Open pits have been left open in places not far from the highway, some of them about 15 metres. Should a disaster come on the road, there would not be any space to make a detour because of these pits. These "Makorokoza" as they are called have no respect for precious life on their part or on other people. They go as panning underneath the electricity pylons an act they did near Kwekwe Queens Sports Club, right in Kwekwe. [9]
Mashonaland West is a province of Zimbabwe. It has an area of 57,441 km² and a population of approximately 1.9 million (2022). Chinhoyi is the capital of the province.
The government of Zimbabwe is the main provider of air, rail and road services; historically, there has been little participation of private investors in transport infrastructure.
Chegutu, originally known as Hartley, is a town in Mashonaland West Province, Zimbabwe.
Kwekwe, formerly known as Que Que, is a city in the Midlands province in central Zimbabwe. The city has a population of 119,863 within the city limits, as of the 2022 census, making it the 7th-largest city in Zimbabwe and the second-most populous city in the Midlands, behind Gweru.
The Republic of Zimbabwe is broken down into 10 administrative provinces, which are divided into 64 districts and 1,970 wards.
Chinhoyi, previously known as Sinoia during the colonial era, is a city in central northern Zimbabwe in the Makonde District. It has a population of 90,800 and is primarily a college town, although it was originally founded as an Italian group settlement scheme. The nearby Chinhoyi Caves and national park are a popular attraction.
Munyati is an estate in Midlands province in Zimbabwe owned by the Zimbabwe Power Company. It is located about 29 km (18 mi) north of Kwekwe on the main Harare-Bulawayo road, which was about 5 km (3.1 mi) away from the village center. In 1938, a coal-fired power station was built in the area and the village was established to house the personnel. It also has a few shops for regular shopping, a primary and secondary (high) school and a football team called Tigers. Gold, copper, stibnite and tungsten are mined in the area. Munyati happens to be the name of a river in this region.
Murombedzi is a town in Zimbabwe.
Railway station in Beitbridge include:
Silobela is an agricultural Resettlement in Kwekwe District in the Midlands Province of Zimbabwe. It is located about 60 kilometres (37 mi) west of Kwekwe town, 80 kilometres (50 mi) north-west of Gweru town, and bordering Nkayi on the west.
Sebakwe River or Zibagwe River is a river in Zimbabwe.
Chegutu, originally known as Hartley, is a district of Mashonaland West Province, Zimbabwe. The district headquarters is located in Chegutu, a city which lies of the Harare-Bulawayo Road,.
The Kwekwe-Gokwe Highway or the R84-7 Highway is an all-weather bitumen macadam highway in Zimbabwe running from Kwekwe to Gokwe passing through Zhombe. As a trunk road it is officially designated as the P11 Highway.
The R2 Road is an international road in Zimbabwe that runs from Harare, through Bulawayo, to Plumtree border post.
The R3 highway is a primary road in Zimbabwe that runs from the capital city, Harare, to the Chirundu Border Post with Zambia. It is also known as the A1 highway. It is part of both the Beira–Lobito Highway and the Cape to Cairo Road.
Chirundu–Beitbridge Road Corridor is a Trans-African Highway Network Zimbabwean link between South Africa and Zambia. It is part of the North–South Corridor Project and forms the entire Zimbabwean section of the Cape to Cairo Road.
