If you thought flyovers were about to improve the flow of traffic and add to the beauty of Kigali city, you’d better put your expectations on hold – at least for now. The government says that though the construction of flyovers in the capital would significantly ease pressures on the roads, such a project will require taxpayer to dig deeper into their pockets.“Although flyovers play a big role in managing traffic, the problem is mainly financing because they are expensive to build,” State Minister for Transport, Dr Alexis Nzahabwanimana, told the media yesterday at a news conference called to discuss the new law governing roads in Rwanda. “Traffic in Kigali is developing at the rate of 10 percent annually; this means there is need to manage traffic, and one of the best ways to do so is constructing flyovers. For instance, there is need for a flyover around RDB (Rwanda Development Board) head office (Gishushu, Gasabo) and around Chez Lando roundabout (Kisementi, Gasabo),” he said. Asked why the new law is silent about flyovers, the minister said it was catered for under the Kigali City Master Plan. Instead, the minister said, plans were underway to construct new roads around the busiest routes, which he believes will divert traffic and help ease pressure on the road network.“For instance, we are considering constructing a new road between Rwandex (Kicukiro) and the Prime Minister’s Office (Kimihurura) to reduce traffic on the Kicukiro-City Centre road,” he said.Figures released last year indicate that, on average, 250 automobiles come into the country every month, while statistics from the Rwanda Revenue Authority (RRA) show that, by March 2011, there were 50,661 registered vehicles and close to 40,000 motorcycles. Kigali City Director of Communication, Bruno Rangira, said the City Master Plan provides for a number of flyovers. “We have just finished working on the Nyarugenge District plan where we have provided for three flyovers connecting to the Central Business District (CBD). We are now working on the plans for Gasabo and Kicukiro districts which might also have flyovers,” he said. “We have not reached the level of financing the construction; the details of how much the flyovers will cost are expected after engineers complete’ feasibility studies,” he explained.In an interview with The New Times, a civil engineer, Alex Bahati, said flyovers may not necessarily be put in the law governing roads, since the legislation looks at broader issues.“Normally, flyovers are built in major cities and are meant to manage traffic flow; in the meantime, we need to have a way of managing our traffic before we can have flyovers,” said Bahati. Theoneste Rwirahira, a taxi driver plying the Remera-Kacyiru road, said in an interview that, on average, it takes him 20 minutes to drive from Remera to Kacyiru in the morning and evening rush hours. “Passengers don’t complain because the problem is visible; we need to have wider roads, diversion routes or flyovers because we spend too much time stuck in traffic jams. We could earn more money if we didn’t have heavy traffic jams, but we also have to acknowledge that it’s difficult to control traffic in a developing city,” he said.Dr Alexis Nzahabwanimana also highlighted new changes in the way roads have been managed. The legislation classifies roads into national, district and public roads. National roads will have a total width of seven metres on both lanes, while district and public roads will be six metres wide. A recent study commissioned by the Ministry of Infrastructure put the total length of roads in Rwanda at 30,000, of which 12,000 are tarmac. According to Nzahabwanimana, construction works on the 185km Kivu Belt Road and the Base-Nyagatare Road (130km), which passes through Gicumbi District and the 130km Ngoma-Nyanza road, which connects the Eastern and the Southern provinces, will increase the distance of tarmaced roads.Asked how much the two roads will cost, he said: “It depends on a number of factors, including topography and the nature of the road under construction. But on average, one kilometre may range from US$500,000 to US$1 million”.
