Staff Reporter

The Zimbabwe National Road Administration (ZINARA) in conjunction with the Department of Roads has embarked on a tollgate expansion and upgrading programme.

A source within ZINARA revealed to this publication that the programme is expected to kick start in May 2021 and will see the Department of Roads upgrading tollgates to toll plazas, which will have increased lanes of up to six.

According to the source, the programme will also see some tollgates being re-located while ZINARA is expected to upgrade payment systems on these toll plazas.

The source further revealed that ZINARA has budgeted over ZWL$1 billion for the tollgate expansion and upgrading programme.

The expansion and upgrading programme of the tollgates have been necessitated by an increase in traffic on the nation’s trunk roads.

The source revealed that last month, about 20 local contractors conducted a pre-biding site visit at the Norton tollgate to enable them to quote for the work to be done before adjudication of tenders.

At the Norton tollgate, the source said, lanes will be increased to eight, while Skyline tollgate will have six lanes and Dema tollgate will have four lanes.

However, Dema and Skyline tollgates are to be relocated as their current locations allows motorists to by-pass them since they are built in residential areas.

According to the same source, other tollgates around the country will be upgraded and expanded in a phased manner.

Meanwhile to reduce congestion at tollgates, ZINARA has introduced a tollgate coupon system which is still on pilot stage and is expected to be rolled out on the first week of April 2021.

The coupons will be bought at ZINARA offices and Kiosks at tollgates.

ZINARA is also working on modalities of enabling the ZINARA toll card to be loaded electronically with funds for tap and go facility.

It also intends to introduce the e-tolling system as the one in South Africa and other first world countries.

The e-tolling system is expected to come with systems and gadgets which allows for auto deduction of toll fees without the vehicle stopping thereby reducing congestion at the tollgates