By DELPHINE ZULU-
THE Road Development Agency (RDA) has said the Chinsali-Nakonde road urgently needs complete overhaul because it has outlived its lifespan.
RDA public relations manager Loyce Saili said the agency had already done a feasibility study for the road and was only waiting for Government to fund the project.
She was speaking when a team from RDA toured part of the damaged Chinsali- Nakonde road which had since been patched and opened to members of the public.
Last Sunday, the road collapsed five kilometres from Nakonde border and another 15 kilometres away from the border leaving many vehicles stranded until a combined team of RDA, Disaster Management Mitigation Unit (DMMU), ZAF and Zambia Army moved on site.
The road, she said, could not be be sustained with patches anymore because it was finished.
“The five kilometres and another 15 kilometres are extensively damaged and partial works are not saving any solution, the best is a complete overhaul,” she said.
Ms Saili said the 200 -kilometre stretch had not received maintenance in a long time a situation which had made it impossible to avoid further disaster.
She said her office and other cooperating agencies would continue to monitor the road and move their machinery once need arose.
The constant rain in the area had been the challenge leading to the collapse of the road, she said.
“It is still raining here, water is still coming from underground and it has eaten up  the permanent layers.
“We are hopeful that Government will be able to fund the project urgently, as designs and feasibility studies have already been done. We are just waiting for funds to commerce works,” said Ms Saili.
The RDA spokesperson said the road was key to boosting trade links between Zambia and its neighbouring countries that depended on it for business and easy transportation of goods.
And some road users interviewed expressed happiness at Government’s quick intervention and advised that the road be worked on permanently.
They said that there was need to have the road overhauled as merely working on patches was not only unsustainable but costly especially that it was still raining in the area.
They said it would also be prudent for Zambia and Tanzania to joined hands to fund the project because the road was important for both countries in terms of trade.