The Tanzania National Roads Agency (TANROADS) is working on major road projects to ease traffic congestion in Dodoma and other growing cities. As part of the Dodoma Integrated and Sustainable Transport (DIST) project, TANROADS is constructing a 112km outer ring road and upgrading key roads to improve transport efficiency.

Engineer Ephatar Mlavi, the Director of Infrastructure Planning at TANROADS, shared this update during a recent presentation on the agency’s progress over the past four years.

The first phase of the Dodoma outer ring road, which connects Nala-Veyula-Mtumbwa-Ihumwa Dry Port (52.3km), is almost finished, with 91% completed.

Meanwhile, the second phase, covering Ihumwa Dry Port-Matumbulu-Nala (62km), has reached 85% completion. The project is part of the DIST initiative, funded by the World Bank (WB), and also includes expanding key access roads such as the Dodoma-Chamwino Road (52km).

Beyond Dodoma, similar efforts are underway in Mbeya, where a section of the TANZAM Expressway, from Uyole to Ifisi-Songwe Airport (36km), will be upgraded to four lanes. In Mwanza, the Mwanza-Usagara-JPM Bridge Road (37km) is also being widened to four lanes to address traffic congestion in the city.

Since President Samia Suluhu Hassan took office, TANROADS has been working on a total of 15,625.55 km of road construction projects. Within the past four years, 1,365.87 km of tarmac roads have been completed, while 2,031.11 km are still under construction. Additionally, feasibility studies have been conducted on 2,052.94 km of roads in preparation for future upgrades.

Alongside these road projects, TANROADS has also completed nine major bridges, including the Tanzanite Bridge, which crosses the Indian Ocean. Other completed bridges include Gerezani (Dar es Salaam), Wami (Coast Region), Kitengule (Kagera), Kiyegeya (Morogoro), Ruaha (Morogoro), and Ruhuhu (Ruvuma). Meanwhile, 10 more bridges are currently under construction to further improve connectivity across the country.