THE Bulawayo City Council (BCC) has tightened restrictions on heavy trucks and buses by barring them from driving through the city centre.

The authorities have ordered truck drivers to stick to designated routes amid concerns over traffic congestion and destruction of the road network.

In a notice, the council said a truck with a mass exceeding nine tonnes must follow designated routes when passing through the city centre.

“The City of Bulawayo would like to advise members of the public that we will be carrying out an awareness campaign on heavy trucks, inter-city and rural buses/kombis operating from and passing through the city,” the notice read.

“The overall objective of this campaign is to remind owners and operators of trucks whose mass is in excess nine tonnes that they must at all times follow designated routes when passing through the city or making deliveries in the city.”

Most of the city’s roads are in a sorry state and this has been partly blamed on heavy trucks that damage road surfaces, especially when turning at intersections.

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The local authority has proposed the 2024 roads rehabilitation budget to be US$14,5 million.

BCC recently announced its proposed 2024 budget of US$264 million.

The draft budget presented on roads projects earmarked for the year 2024 showed that Lobengula Street rehabilitation would gobble US$900 000, Fort Street (US$750 000), Herbert Chitepo Street (US$800 000) and Steel Works Road US$5 850 000.

Matopos Road rehabilitation is expected to cost US$2 750 000, bringing the total to US$11 050 000 to cover a total of 10km.

The other road projects earmarked for the year 2024 are  the Luveve Road reconstruction at US$600 000, Maduma Road reconstruction at US$650 000, Murchison Road reconstruction at US$1 200 000, Fairbridge Way at US$680 000, Wellington Road at US$325 000, bringing the total to US$3 455 000 for a total of 6,2km of roads.

The total road length which is budgeted for is 16,2km and is expected to gobble a total of US$14 505 000.