Mozambique: Main north-south highway cut in Zambézia – AIM report

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Mozambique: Main north-south highway cut in Zambézia – AIM report

7:54 CAT | 22 Mar 2022

Photo: Diário da Zambézia

Traffic along Mozambique’s main north-south highway (EN1) has been interrupted since Saturday afternoon on the stretch between Nicoadala and Namacurra, following heavy rainfall that washed away the soils under the culvert that sustained the road, according to a report in Monday’s issue of the independent daily “O Pais”.

Although the waters of the Iledje River have receded significantly, and people can now walk along the riverbed, it is not yet certain when road traffic will fully resume, and the province is still under the influence of continued rainfall.

The Secretary of State in Zambezia, Judite Mussacula, had been stranded on the north side of the affected stretch of road when. she plus some members of the provincial emergency operational centre, paid a ground visit to assess the damage caused by the rain. She was airlifted in mid-afternoon Sunday to Quelimane, the provincial capital.

The contractor tasked with the restoration of movement across the road had been on the ground carrying out preliminary works, which include filling the gap with earth and rocks, as well as assessing the sort of intervention to be conducted.

In Nicoadala and Namacura towns there are very long queues of vehicles transporting people and goods, waiting for the road to be repaired so that they can continue their journeys.

From Namacura town, it is no longer possible to reach any administrative post in the district, because of several cuts in other roads and flooding caused by continuous rainfall. There are reports of various houses destroyed by the rain.

The director of the National Roads Administration (ANE) in Zambezia, Jorge Govanhica, said that the province’s contingency plan for the road sector must be reviewed to accommodate new needs. Financial necessities for the rehabilitation, maintenance and reconstruction of roads pointed to 500 million meticais (7.9 million US dollars), but after the devastation caused by tropical cyclone “Gombe” earlier this month, the amount will increase.

At Namacurra, the damage caused by the rains affects a stretch of the road that is about a kilometre long. ANE teams are working to fill the gap in the road and are confident that traffic will be flowing again by Wednesday.

Cyclone Gombe hit the neighbouring province of Nampula on 11 March, but the torrential rains it brought have swollen many rivers in Zambezia, severely damaging the province’s road network.

Source: AIM / Jornal Noticias