Emergency Rehoboth road hits a snag

Some Rehoboth commuters travelling to Windhoek daily have raised concerns over the newly built one-way bypass, citing slow traffic, dust, and safety risks.

This comes after a bridge on the Windhoek-Rehoboth road about 30km from the capital was damaged during recent heavy rains last week and a bypass had to be built as an emergency measure.

“Why must there always be problems in Namibia? I am not happy and I don’t like the one-way road. I now have to get up two hours earlier than before. If I don’t, I’ll be late for work.

“If you have a one-lane road, everyone moves at the speed of the slowest vehicle. Slow traffic encourages dangerous behaviour, like passing into oncoming traffic,” commuter Jannie van Wyk says.

He says a dual bypass would had been a better option, providing better traffic flow, improved safety and enhanced comfort.

“We need to have separate lanes for each direction, which can accommodate more vehicles at a time, reducing congestion,” he says.

Rehoboth resident Belinda Strauss says the new road is dusty and challenging to drive on, slowing traffic down even more.

The Roads Authority (RA) has issued a public notice encouraging road users to plan their travel time to avoid congestion.

“All road users are urged to plan their journeys accordingly, follow all traffic signs and exercise patience to ensure smooth traffic flow, especially at the temporary one-way bypass.

“We appreciate your cooperation and will continue to monitor the situation to improve travel conditions,” the authority says.

Minister of works and transport Veikko Nekundi says the bridge was constructed around 1961.

“The bridge is old now. The rain that we experienced was very heavy. The flow of the water was above normal. The bridge will be redesigned to function normally again,” he says.

Nekundi says construction is ongoing to improve the bypass.

“For now, a one-way road was constructed to at least allow traffic to flow.

We are busy putting up the second passage to allow a free flow.” Nekundi says the reconstruction of the bridge will take approximately seven months.

RA chief executive Conrad Lutombi says a permanent dual bypass is expected to be completed within the next three weeks.

“The heavy rains have affected our roads. The impact on our national roads is minimal. Most of the damage was experienced in the Khomas region,” he says.