Road expansion works on Giporoso–Masaka corridor, which commenced on Sunday, August 30, are set to change how traffic moves through Giporoso, with vehicles heading to Kanombe, the airport, Kabeza and Rando set to use separate routes. The 10-kilometre project will use a 36-metre-wide flyover, four-lane underpasses and additional lanes to separate traffic movements and ease congestion along the corridor, according to the Rwanda Transport Development Agency (RTDA). ALSO READ: Expansion works on Prince House-Giporoso-Masaka road commence Around Giporoso, traffic travelling in different directions will no longer rely on the same junction. Instead, a flyover will carry traffic between Kabeza and the Chez Lando area, while vehicles travelling from Chez Lando towards Kanombe and Kigali International Airport will use a separate alignment. Yves Bahunde Havugimana, the Urban Transport and Regional Integration Programme Manager RTDA, said the road was designed with particular attention to the traffic movements around Prince House and Giporoso, which are among the main sources of congestion along the corridor. “The corridor serves as one of the main entry routes for vehicles coming from the eastern part of the country, while also carrying a significant number of trucks travelling towards Kigali from ports, including those coming through the wider regional trade route,” he said. Havugimana said the design therefore focused heavily on the intersections between Prince House and Cyamitsingi. ALSO READ: Alternative routes as Prince House-Giporoso-Masaka gets disrupted Under the new arrangement, vehicles travelling in different directions will be able to use separate levels of the road, totally removing the junction that brought many cars in the same area. Havugimana gave the example of traffic travelling from Chez Lando towards Kanombe and Kigali International Airport. “Someone coming from Chez Lando will be able to go towards Cyamitsingi and continue without meeting another stream of vehicles as they used to,” he said. According to Havugimana, traffic will move along the elevated section from Greenwich Hotel, pass over the area where the former KFC was located, then descend through Giporoso before coming back up to connect with the existing road around Cyamitsingi. This arrangement is intended to allow traffic travelling towards Kanombe and the airport to move separately from vehicles travelling along other routes. The section from Prince House towards the former KFC area will have between six and eight lanes, depending on the specific point along the road. ALSO READ: Govt earmarks Rwf16bn for Prince House-Giporoso-Masaka road upgrade Havugimana said four lanes will remain at ground level in the area near the former KFC, with two lanes serving each direction. An elevated bridge will also connect the Greenwich Hotel side with the former KFC area. The bridge coming from Greenwich Hotel to the former KFC will be more than 11 metres wide, with each carriageway designed to provide sufficient space for vehicles travelling in both directions. Four additional lanes underneath: After passing that point, the road will still maintain two lanes in each direction, but then there will be four additional lanes that will pass underneath, allowing another traffic movement to continue without mixing with vehicles using the road above. Havugimana said the elevated bridge will be about 36 metres wide. “The movement of vehicles at the existing road level will continue as it does today. However, vehicles travelling from Chez Lando towards the airport will no longer have to interact with those vehicles in the same way,” he said. “Instead, they will come from the Greenwich Hotel side on the elevated section, pass over the former KFC area, descend through Giporoso, and then rejoin the existing road level around Cyamitsingi. That is the first section.” The second section starts at Cyamitsingi and runs towards Inyange Industries, along the road connecting to Masaka. Unlike the first section, this part will have four lanes, with two lanes in each direction. The road will also have dedicated facilities for cyclists and pedestrians. Why Giporoso is central to the design Havugimana said the redesign is largely driven by the number of traffic movements that currently meet between the Giporoso and Kucyamitsingi area. “Vehicles travelling from different parts of Kigali use the corridor, while the route also serves traffic entering the city from Eastern Province and heavy trucks travelling towards Kigali.” According to Havugimana, the project planners therefore paid particular attention to how vehicles would move through the various intersections rather than simply widening the existing road. Vehicles from Kabeza will be able to use the elevated bridge, allowing them to continue towards their destination without interacting with traffic using the other movement. At the same time, vehicles travelling from Prince House towards Kabeza will also be able to use the elevated route where appropriate. The aim is to reduce the number of conflicting movements and keep traffic flowing along the corridor, said Havugimana.
