Mabura-Lethem Road: Repairs to collapsed section expected to be completed in 3 days – Edghill
A section of the Mabura to Lethem Road which was washed away due to heavy rainfall is currently being repaired and works are expected to be completed in three days.
This is according to Public Works Minister Juan Edghill, who is urging commuters to be patient.
“We are just asking people for their patience. It’s something that happened that we did not expect and we’re trying to get it done as soon as possible. We have a contracting firm that has been maintaining and doing several works,” he explained.
The contracting company is Mekdeci Machinery & Construction Inc and the total cost of the works is estimated to be in excess of $15 million.
“The repairs are ongoing, the contractor is on site, we’re trying to get it fixed and closed up to get traffic moving. Materials and everything is on site and the contractor is working,” the Minister assured.
Nevertheless, he noted that the team is facing some challenges in conducting the repairs.
The section of the Mabura-Lethem Road that collapsed
“It’s a flooded area, there’s a waterflow and all the rest of it that caused the damage, we have to build dams and so to cut off the waterflow and the rest it. So it’s not just going and repair the roads, we first of all have to get the culverts replaced to deal with the water and so on,” he explained.
The Public Works Minister had previously underscored the importance of this road link.
“It’s an important link. We gotta make sure we get fuel and so on into Lethem. To keep power and supply going. We gotta ensure that goods are getting into the interior area. So, we’re sparing no effort to getting it fixed,” he had noted.
On Friday last, the Public Works Ministry received reports that the Mile 42 Culvert of the Linden Mabura corridor had washed away due to heavy rainfall.
“This washout was as a result of exceptionally heavy rainfall which caused the natural waterway which runs below the road to swell. The high volume and pressure overwhelmed the multiple lower-level culverts and then subsequently started overtopping the roadway, eventually taking the entire section with it,” the Ministry had explained.
