Overloaded Trucks Threaten Bulawayo–Victoria Falls Highway Rehabilitation

Contractors upgrading the Bulawayo–Victoria Falls highway have warned that overloaded haulage trucks, mainly carrying coal from Hwange, are destroying newly rehabilitated sections and shortening the road’s lifespan.

Masimba Contractors and Fossil Contracting, working on different sections, said overloaded trucks cause the most severe and costly damage, exceeding the impact of weather and technical delays.

A Masimba representative added that installing weighbridges is now a critical intervention. The official said:

“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 some transporters were carrying up to 50 tonnes, well above the permitted 30 tonnes. He said:

“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, warning that overloaded trucks are damaging the roads and urgent action is needed.

Road engineers say overloaded trucks accelerate rutting, cracking, and base failure, leading to repeated maintenance costs and shortening the lifespan of rehabilitated sections by years.

More: ZimLive

Related:

Overloaded Trucks Blamed As New Highway Crumbles Within 24 months Zimbabwe’s gold deliveries hit 5.11 tonnes in August, small-scale miners lead growth