Staff Reporter
THE upgraded Karibib–Usakos Road and Usakos Traffic Circle have officially been opened, marking a significant milestone in improving connectivity, road safety and the movement of people and goods along the important transport corridor in the Erongo Region.
Works and Transport Minister Veikko Nekundi officially cut the ribbon at the opening ceremony, which was attended by Erongo Regional Council chairperson and Karibib Constituency councillor Lazarus Kanelombe, representatives of the Roads Authority, stakeholders and community members.
Nekundi said the handover of the road to the public represents another milestone in the Government’s infrastructure development agenda, but warned that the investment would only deliver its intended benefits if road users adhere to traffic regulations.
“This road will only be a road. You use it for the good intention it was created. It can only be a good road if the passage on this road delivers the benefit,” he said.
Nekundi particularly cautioned truck drivers and operators against overloading, saying the practice could damage infrastructure that had cost millions of dollars to construct.
“The time for overloaded trucks on this road is a matter of the past,” he said, specifically referring to trucks transporting marble from Karibib.
He warned that some trucks were allegedly being driven after midnight to avoid traffic enforcement and said Government would consider modern weighing technologies if overloading continued.
“We cannot have road infrastructures costing millions of dollars of taxpayers, both Namibians and Germans, and it’s just been put to waste because those that was adhered to the principal rule of the road,” Nekundi said.
He added that authorities have the capacity to address practices that negatively affect Namibia’s social and economic wellbeing and urged truck drivers and operators to use the road responsibly.
The upgraded road is expected to strengthen connectivity between Karibib and Usakos and support the movement of goods and services linked to sectors including mining, tourism, agriculture and trade.
The opening also highlighted the responsibility of all road users to exercise caution and contribute to safer travel and the protection of lives along the newly upgraded route.
“Let the traffic flow on the Karibib–Usakos road,” Nekundi said.
Photo: Usakos Town Council – UTC
