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 Map showing the Great East Road through Zambia | ||||
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| Route information | ||||
| Length | 595 km (370 mi) | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| West end |   T2 /M9 inLusaka | |||
| Major intersections | D145 atLuangwa Bridge D142 inNyimba D138 inPetauke  T6 inKateteD123 inChipata  M12 inChipataD128 inChipata | |||
| East end | M12 at theMwami Border withMalawi nearMchinji | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | Zambia | |||
| Provinces | Lusaka,Eastern | |||
| Major cities | Lusaka,Chongwe,Rufunsa,Nyimba,Petauke,Sinda,Katete,Chipata | |||
| Highway system | ||||
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TheGreat East Road is a major road inZambia and the main route linking itsEastern Province with the rest of the country. It is also the major link between Zambia andMalawi and between Zambia and northernMozambique.[1] However, the route does not carry as much traffic as many of the other regional arterial roads and between the main cities it serves,Lusaka andChipata, it passes through rural and wilderness areas. In Lusaka the road forms the main arterial road for the eastern suburbs. The entire route from Lusaka to Chipata and the border with Malawi is designated the T4 road on Zambia's road network.[2][3]
Chipata, the capital of the Eastern Province was an early outpost of theBritishcolonial administration as Fort Jameson when Zambia wasNorthern Rhodesia. Like most of the Eastern Province, it had much easier access to Malawi, then the Britishprotectorate ofNyasaland, and to the Mozambique ports ofQuelimane andBeira than to the rest of Northern Rhodesia, and so most trade and communication in early colonial days was eastwards. Until the mid-1920s mail, goods and passengers went between the capital of the territory atLivingstone andFort Jameson by train through neighbouring countries — viaBulawayo andBeira toBlantyre and then by road.
Before the Great East Road, the first direct vehicle access to the east of any kind was a track made in 1929 by transport companies following a more northerly route than the present road, and which crossed both theLunsemfwa River and the Luangwa by pontoons made from dugout canoes roped together.[4]
Eventually the Northern Rhodesian authorities needed a better road to assert their control over the Eastern Province, and thefirst Great East Road was built in 1932 from theGreat North Road at the smallrailway town ofLusaka (Livingstone was still the capital, and this junction of the 'Great Roads' together with the main north–south railway contributed to the decision to site the capital in Lusaka in 1935).[5]
TheEastern Province is a narrow slice of land sandwiched between Mozambique and Malawi to its south and east, and theLuangwa Valley, world-famous forits wildlife, to the north-west, which no highways cross. Apart from a bush track over the highlands in the far north of the province, a narrow neck of land in the west became the only way in from or out to the rest of Zambia, and as the only highway to cross it, the Great East road is strategically vulnerable.[1] This neck is cut by the lower Luangwa River making a turn due south to theZambezi, in a narrow and deep valley with steep slopes and thick vegetation, amounting in some sections to a gorge. The river is 250 to 400 m wide in this area, and flows quite fast, with a huge variation according to season.
Crossing the steep terrain of the lower Luangwa valley was a major challenge. The 1929 track was usually closed in the rainy season, and so the firstLuangwa Bridge was built in 1932 with funding from theBeit Trust. On the eastern side, once the road had climbed up the difficult terrain onto the Luangwa-Zambeziwatershed atNyimba,Petauke, andKatete, the going is easier.[4]Chipata is reached 570 km from Lusaka and the road goes on to theMalawian border 20 km further on, where it connects viaMchinji to the Malawian capital ofLilongwe, just 120 km from the border.[1]
The Great East Road has 3 tollgates (one just east of Lusaka; one between Nyimba andPetauke; one just west of Chipata).[6]
The T4 begins north ofLusaka Central, at a roundabout junction with theT2 road (Great North Road;Cairo Road) and theM9 road. It begins by going eastwards as the Great East Road to form the main road of the central-eastern suburbs, passing the Manda Hill Mall, Arcades Mall and East Park Mall before passing by theUniversity of Zambia main campus. Immediately after theKenneth Kaunda International Airport turn-off in theChelstone suburb (the last suburb of Lusaka), the T4 crosses intoChongwe District.[3]
From the airport turn-off, the T4 heads eastwards for 30 kilometres, though the Chongwe Toll Plaza,[6] to the town of Chongwe, where it passes through the town centre as the main road. From Chongwe, the T4 continues eastwards for 115 kilometres to the town of Rufunsa in thedistrict of the same name. From Rufunsa, the T4 goes eastwards for 70 kilometres to meet the northern terminus of theD145, which goes southwards to the town ofLuangwa (85 kilometres away). Immediately after the Luangwa turn-off, the T4 leavesLusaka Province and crosses theLuangwa River into theEastern Province as theLuangwa Bridge.[3]
From the Luangwa Bridge, the T4 heads east-north-east for 165 kilometres, following the near borderline withMozambique, through the town of Nyimba, through the Alexander Grey Zulu Toll Plaza,[6] to bypassPetauke to the south (where the D138 provides access to the town centre). From the Petauke turn-off, the T4 heads east-north-east for 87 kilometres, through the town of Sinda, to the town ofKatete, where it meets the northern terminus of theT6 road, which goes southwards to the border withMozambique. The T6 is the main route used by motorists to access Mozambique from Zambia.[3]
From Katete, the T4 heads east-north-east for 80 kilometres, though the Reuben C Kamanga Toll Plaza,[6] to enter the city ofChipata, where it meets the southern terminus of theM12 road (which goes north toLundazi and theSouth Luangwa National Park) before passing through the city centre in a south-easterly direction. Immediately after the Chipata City Centre, the T4 meets the northern terminus of the D128, which goes southwards toChadiza.[3] The T4 continues east-south-east for 18 kilometres to reach theMwami Border withMalawi, where it crosses the national boundary and becomes theM12 road of Malawi, which connects to the city ofLilongwe (Capital of Malawi; 120 kilometres away). The border settlement on the Malawian side is namedMchinji.
In addition to its east-west Lusaka-Malawi axis, the Great East Road links north toLundazi (using theM12 road from Chipata), north-west to theSouth Luangwa National Park (using the D104 road from Chipata), south-east to Mozambique (using theT6 road from Katete), and, inLusaka Province, south to theLower Zambezi National Park and the town ofLuangwa at the Luangwa-Zambezi river confluence (using the D145 road from the Luangwa Bridge).[3] In the 1960s the Great East road was paved, opening up the Luangwa Valley (and to some extent,Lake Malawi) to tourism.[1] At times the surface has deteriorated considerably. The section between Katete and the Luangwa Bridge was repaired and reconstructed around 2002/3.
As well as being strategically vulnerable as described above, the Great East Road is within a few kilometres of Mozambique and a few tens of kilometres of Zimbabwe, where there werewars of independence in the 1960s and 1970s. As a result of Zambia's political support for theanti-apartheid andindependence sides in these conflicts, armed incursions cut the road at theLuangwa Bridge, with it being rebuilt and reopened in 1968.[7][8][9][10] As of 2022, there are plans to rehabilitate the bridge.[7][8][9]
TheT6 road is the road that links Zambia with NorthernMozambique. At the town ofKatete, 80 kilometres west ofChipata, 490 kilometres east ofLusaka, at a junction with the T4 (Great East Road), begins the road going south-east towards the border with Mozambique. The T6 road is 55 km in length from Katete, passing through Chilembwe and Mlolo (through the western side ofChadiza District), to the Chanida Border with Mozambique.[2][3] The long road ahead through Mozambique (the N9 route) provides access to the city ofTete. The border on the Mozambique side is named Chimefusa.
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| Route information | ||||
| Length | 180 km (110 mi) | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| South end |  T4 (Great East Road) inChipata | |||
| North end | D104/D103/D109 inLundazi | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | Zambia | |||
| Provinces | Eastern | |||
| Major cities | Chipata,Lundazi | |||
| Highway system | ||||
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TheM12 road is the road that connectsChipata withLundazi andChama.[2][3] Together with the Great East Road (T4) to Lusaka, it is the main route connecting Chama and Lundazi with the rest of the country. The M12 is a road in a poor condition.[11][12]
It starts at a junction with the T4 (Great East Road) just north-west of Chipata City Centre and goes northwards for 7 kilometres to reach a t-junction with the D104 (Chipata-Mfuwe Road), which goes north-west to theChipata Airport (2 kilometres away) and extends further throughMambwe District to the tourist settlement ofMfuwe and itsInternational Airport south of theSouth Luangwa National Park and theLuangwa River (100 kilometres away).[3]
At this junction, the M12 makes a right turn and goes northwards for 173 kilometres, following theMalawi borderline, through theChipangali andLumezi Districts, to reach its northern terminus in the vicinity of the town ofLundazi, where it ends at another junction with the D104 road coming from theSouth Luangwa National Park and theLuambe National Park in the west. The road continuing northwards from this junction is the D103 road, which provides access to the town of[3]Chama. The D109 connects eastwards from the D103 in Lundazi to the Lusuntha border withMalawi.
The Luangwa Road (designated as D145 on Zambia's road network)[2][3] is the road that provides access to the town ofLuangwa. It is the only road used to enter and exit Luangwa.
It starts at a junction with the T4 (Great East Road) just west of theLuangwa Bridge inRufunsa District, going southwards. It heads for 85 kilometres, crossing intoLuangwa District and following theLuangwa River (which forms Zambia's boundary withMozambique in this area), to reach the town ofLuangwa adjacent to the Luangwa River andZambezi River confluence, where it ends in the town centre.[3]
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