Ten new roads in pipeline for Addis
The Addis Ababa City Roads Authority plans to complete 25 roads project and start 10 new ones this fiscal year.
The Authority has spent over three billion birr to build and maintain the city road network and facilities.
“As part of the government’s existing trend, the Authority is paying attention to completing the existing road projects on time,” Moges Tibebu the authority director general said.
Many road projects were delayed because the contractors were not qualified, problems with consultants, design defaults and court cases connected to demarcation.
The Authority is under discussion with the Supreme Court to set up speedy trial to alleviate the court cases in connection to demarcation which is the fundamental cause for the delay of most roads construction, the director adds.
The Authority spends the money for the construction and maintenance of over 400km road networks in various part of the city including traffic and street lights, pedestrian roads.
Asphalt road construction accounts for14.3 km. There are 36.9 km of gravel roads. There are 190km of cobble stone road projects, the highest share. There be 7.3 km of sidewalks built so to accommodate increasing foot traffic. The Authorities long term game plan is to modernize and upgrade the road system.
According to Moges Tibebu, the Authority’s Director General, the projects are part of the city’s three year Road Master Plan which was adopted in 2017. Hopes are this will make traffic more efficient.
Currently city road coverage is less than 20 percent which is below international standards.
“The Authority plans to finalize five road projects before the end of this fiscal year,” Moges added.
