The Great North Road is a major route in
Zambia
Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most cent ...
, running north from
Lusaka
Lusaka (; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Zambia. It is one of the fastest-developing cities in southern Africa. Lusaka is in the southern part of the central plateau at an elevation of about . , the city's population was ab ...
through
Kabwe
Kabwe is the capital of the Zambian Central Province and the Kabwe District, with a population estimated at 202,914 at the 2010 census. Named Broken Hill until 1966, it was founded when lead and zinc deposits were discovered in 1902. Kabwe also ...
,
Kapiri Mposhi
Kapiri Mposhi is a Zambian town, seat of the Kapiri Mposhi District, Central Province. Located north of Lusaka, it stands on the Great North Road and is significant for the railway connection between Zambia Railways line from Kitwe to Lusaka an ...
(the road continues by way of a right turn just north of Kapiri Mposhi),
Serenje
Serenje is a town of Serenje District, Zambia, lying just off the Great North Road and TAZARA Railway. Serenje has a railway station on the TAZARA railway. Serenje is approximately 191 km from Kapiri Mposhi on the Great North Road. Mkus ...
,
Mpika
Mpika is a town in the Muchinga Province of Zambia, lying at the junction of the M1 Road to Kasama and Mbala and the Tanzam Highway ( Great North Road) to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania in the north-east and Lusaka in the south-west. It also has a r ...
(where it makes a left turn),
Kasama,
Mbala and
Mpulungu
Mpulungu is a town in the Northern Province of Zambia, at the southern tip of Lake Tanganyika.Camerapix: "Spectrum Guide to Zambia." Camerapix International Publishing, Nairobi, 1996.
From Mpulungu, boats reach DR Congo, Tanzania and Burundi. Th ...
. 82km North of Mpika is a signposted right turn onto a well maintained gravel road leading to
Shiwa Ng'andu (12km) and
Kapishya Hot Springs (32km). The road from Zambia's border with
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...
at
Chirundu to Lusaka is now regarded as being part of the Great North Road; but this is only since the opening of the
Chirundu Bridge
The Chirundu Bridge now consists of two road bridges side by side across the Zambezi River between the small town of Chirundu, Zambia and the village of Chirundu, Zimbabwe. At this location around 65 km downstream from the Kariba Dam the ...
in 1939 - before that, the Great North Road ran from
Livingstone to Lusaka, as part of the original
Cape to Cairo Red Line
Cecil John Rhodes (5 July 1853 – 26 March 1902) was a British mining magnate and politician in southern Africa who served as Prime Minister of the Cape Colony from 1890 to 1896.
An ardent believer in British imperialism, Rhodes and his Brit ...
by Cecil John Rhodes. The portion from Mbala to Mpulungu could be regarded as a spur linking to the
Lake Tanganyika
Lake Tanganyika () is an African Great Lake. It is the second-oldest freshwater lake in the world, the second-largest by volume, and the second-deepest, in all cases after Lake Baikal in Siberia. It is the world's longest freshwater lake. ...
steamer service which was popular with travellers up to the 1950s.
When the Mpika-
Tanzania
Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...
highway (the
Tanzam Highway
The Tanzam Highway leads from Lusaka in Zambia to Dar es Salaam in Tanzania. The highway was built from 1968 to 1973 in several stages and was intended to provide seaport access for Zambia and to expand the transport options for Zambia, Mal ...
) via
Tunduma
Tunduma is a town in Songwe Region, Tanzania, on the border between Tanzania and Zambia. It has border posts for both the Tanzam Highway and the TAZARA railway (for which it has a station) linking the two countries. It is located 103 km southwest ...
was upgraded in the 1960s and provided a good route through to
Dar es Salaam and
Arusha
Arusha City is a Tanzanian city and the regional capital of the Arusha Region, with a population of 416,442 plus 323,198 in the surrounding Arusha District Council (2012 census).
Located below Mount Meru on the eastern edge of the eastern bran ...
, this section became known as the Great North Road rather than the Mpika-Mbala section which might be referred to as the ''Old Great North Road''.
In the centre of Lusaka, the Great North Road is named
Cairo Road
Cairo Road is the main thoroughfare of Lusaka, Zambia and the principal business, retail and service centre of the city. It is a section of the T2 road and was so named because it is a link in Cecil Rhodes' then dream of a Cape to Cairo Road ...
and this became the city's business and commercial centre, and busiest thoroughfare, now by-passed by heavy goods vehicles for through traffic by Lumumba Road.
Street name
There are areas where the road may have a specific street name, like
Cairo Road
Cairo Road is the main thoroughfare of Lusaka, Zambia and the principal business, retail and service centre of the city. It is a section of the T2 road and was so named because it is a link in Cecil Rhodes' then dream of a Cape to Cairo Road ...
and Kafue Road in
Lusaka Province
Lusaka Province is one of the ten provinces of Zambia. Its capital is Lusaka, which is also the national capital. It is the smallest province in Zambia, with an area of 21,896 km2. Lusaka is also Zambia's most populated and most densely ...
and Mosi-oa-Tunya Road and Lusaka Road in
Livingstone. For areas without a street name, like quiet areas in between towns, the road is simply named as the Great North Road on Maps.
Old and new routes
The Great North Road of Zambia used to consist of three routes, namely the
T1 Road,
T2 Road and
M1 Road, from
Livingstone, through
Kafue
Kafue is a town in the Lusaka Province of Zambia and it lies on the north bank of the Kafue River, after which it is named. It is the southern gateway to the central Zambian plateau on which Lusaka and the mining towns of Kabwe and the Copperbe ...
and
Mpika
Mpika is a town in the Muchinga Province of Zambia, lying at the junction of the M1 Road to Kasama and Mbala and the Tanzam Highway ( Great North Road) to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania in the north-east and Lusaka in the south-west. It also has a r ...
, to
Mbala. But today, Zambia's Great North Road is formed by only one route, which is the T2 Road from
Chirundu, though Kafue and Mpika, to
Nakonde
Nakonde is a town in the Muchinga Province of Zambia, on the border with Tanzania. It is at the northern end of Zambia's Great North Road ( T2 Road). It is the principal commercial and political headquarters of Nakonde District and the distri ...
. The middle section from Kafue to Mpika remains part of the Great North Road while the northern section is now from Mpika to Nakonde (no-longer from Mpika to Mbala)
and the southern section is now from Kafue to Chirundu (no-longer from Kafue to Livingstone).
Therefore, the T2 now forms the entire Great North Road of Zambia.
The old and new route in southern Zambia
As sources may show, there are two roads in Southern
Zambia
Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most cent ...
which are named ''Great North Road'', one going south-west and one going south-east.
The first one is the T1
Lusaka–Livingstone road
The T1 or Lusaka–Livingstone Road is the main highway of the Southern Province of Zambia. It begins 55 kilometres south of the city of Lusaka (10 kilometres south of Kafue) and heads south-west to the principal tourist destination, Victoria ...
, which goes south-west from
Kafue
Kafue is a town in the Lusaka Province of Zambia and it lies on the north bank of the Kafue River, after which it is named. It is the southern gateway to the central Zambian plateau on which Lusaka and the mining towns of Kabwe and the Copperbe ...
, through
Choma, to
Livingstone and the
Victoria Falls
Victoria Falls ( Lozi: ''Mosi-oa-Tunya'', "The Smoke That Thunders"; Tonga: ''Shungu Namutitima'', "Boiling Water") is a waterfall on the Zambezi River in southern Africa, which provides habitat for several unique species of plants and anim ...
.
It was part of the original
Cape to Cairo Red Line
Cecil John Rhodes (5 July 1853 – 26 March 1902) was a British mining magnate and politician in southern Africa who served as Prime Minister of the Cape Colony from 1890 to 1896.
An ardent believer in British imperialism, Rhodes and his Brit ...
made at the time of
Cecil Rhodes
Cecil John Rhodes (5 July 1853 – 26 March 1902) was a British mining magnate and politician in southern Africa who served as Prime Minister of the Cape Colony from 1890 to 1896.
An ardent believer in British imperialism, Rhodes and his Br ...
and is also known as the ''old route''.
The second one is the direct road to
Chirundu from Kafue, as part of the
T2 Road.
After the Chirundu Bridge was completed in 1939 to provide access to
Harare
Harare (; formerly Salisbury ) is the capital and most populous city of Zimbabwe. The city proper has an area of 940 km2 (371 mi2) and a population of 2.12 million in the 2012 census and an estimated 3.12 million in its metropolitan ...
(Capital of
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...
), it became the new ''Great North Road''.
As of 2019, both roads, from Chirundu/
Harare
Harare (; formerly Salisbury ) is the capital and most populous city of Zimbabwe. The city proper has an area of 940 km2 (371 mi2) and a population of 2.12 million in the 2012 census and an estimated 3.12 million in its metropolitan ...
and from Livingstone/
Bulawayo
Bulawayo (, ; Ndebele: ''Bulawayo'') is the second largest city in Zimbabwe, and the largest city in the country's Matabeleland region. The city's population is disputed; the 2022 census listed it at 665,940, while the Bulawayo City Council ...
, are still named ''Great North Road'' by people and businesses.
The Road proceeding through Harare is part of the
Cape to Cairo Road
The Cape to Cairo Road or Pan-African Highway, sometimes called the Great North Road in sub-Saharan Africa, was a proposed road that would stretch the length of Africa, from Cape Town to Cairo, through the Cape to Cairo Red Line of British Em ...
while the road proceeding to Livingstone is part of the
Cairo-Cape Town Highway (both routes have
Cape Town
Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...
as their endpoint).
The old and new route in northern Zambia
As sources may show, there are two roads in Northern Zambia which are named ''Great North Road''.
The first one is the north–south road from
Mpika
Mpika is a town in the Muchinga Province of Zambia, lying at the junction of the M1 Road to Kasama and Mbala and the Tanzam Highway ( Great North Road) to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania in the north-east and Lusaka in the south-west. It also has a r ...
, through
Kasama, to
Mbala, designated as the
M1 Road.
The other one is the northeast–southwest road from Mpika, through
Isoka
Isoka is a town located in the Muchinga Province of Zambia near the borders with Tanzania and Malawi. It lies on the T2 Road (Tanzam Highway; Great North Road).
Area
The area of the district now (2020) is 5,091 km2. The entire country is ...
, to
Nakonde
Nakonde is a town in the Muchinga Province of Zambia, on the border with Tanzania. It is at the northern end of Zambia's Great North Road ( T2 Road). It is the principal commercial and political headquarters of Nakonde District and the distri ...
, which is part of the
T2 Road.
When the Mpika-
Tanzania
Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...
Highway via
Nakonde
Nakonde is a town in the Muchinga Province of Zambia, on the border with Tanzania. It is at the northern end of Zambia's Great North Road ( T2 Road). It is the principal commercial and political headquarters of Nakonde District and the distri ...
and
Tunduma
Tunduma is a town in Songwe Region, Tanzania, on the border between Tanzania and Zambia. It has border posts for both the Tanzam Highway and the TAZARA railway (for which it has a station) linking the two countries. It is located 103 km southwest ...
was upgraded in the 1960s and provided a good route through to
Dar es Salaam and
Arusha
Arusha City is a Tanzanian city and the regional capital of the Arusha Region, with a population of 416,442 plus 323,198 in the surrounding Arusha District Council (2012 census).
Located below Mount Meru on the eastern edge of the eastern bran ...
, this section became known as the Great North Road rather than the Mpika-Mbala section. Because of this, the Mpika-Mbala section may be referred to as the ''Old Great North Road''.
The route through Nakonde is part of both the
Cape to Cairo Road
The Cape to Cairo Road or Pan-African Highway, sometimes called the Great North Road in sub-Saharan Africa, was a proposed road that would stretch the length of Africa, from Cape Town to Cairo, through the Cape to Cairo Red Line of British Em ...
(famed road) and the
Cairo-Cape Town Highway (proposed
Trans-African Highway network
The Trans-African Highway network comprises transcontinental road projects in Africa being developed by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), the African Development Bank (ADB), and the African Union in conjunction with re ...
route), which makes it more suited to use the name ''Great North Road''.
The Hell Run
During the
Rhodesian Bush War
The Rhodesian Bush War, also called the Second as well as the Zimbabwe War of Liberation, was a civil conflict from July 1964 to December 1979 in the unrecognised country of Rhodesia (later Zimbabwe-Rhodesia).
The conflict pitted three for ...
the border with
Rhodesia
Rhodesia (, ), officially from 1970 the Republic of Rhodesia, was an unrecognised state in Southern Africa from 1965 to 1979, equivalent in territory to modern Zimbabwe. Rhodesia was the ''de facto'' successor state to the British colony of S ...
was closed,
disrupting the importation of goods and fuel to landlocked Zambia and the export of copper. The Great North Road was the only route by which goods and fuel could be imported from the port of Dar es Salaam. Because of the bad condition of the road from
Kapiri Mposhi
Kapiri Mposhi is a Zambian town, seat of the Kapiri Mposhi District, Central Province. Located north of Lusaka, it stands on the Great North Road and is significant for the railway connection between Zambia Railways line from Kitwe to Lusaka an ...
to Tanzania and the many accidents that occurred the truck drivers called this stretch of the Great North Road "The Hell Run". Later, the
Tazama Pipeline
The Tazama Pipeline, also Tanzania–Zambia Crude Oil Pipeline, is a long crude oil pipeline from the port of Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania, to the Indeni Petroleum Refinery in Ndola, Zambia.
Location
The Tazama pipeline extends from the Indian Oc ...
, commissioned in 1968, and the
TAZARA Railway
The Tazara Railway, also called the Uhuru Railway or the Tanzam Railway, is a railway in East Africa linking the port of Dar es Salaam in east Tanzania with the town of Kapiri Mposhi in Zambia's Central Province. The single-track railway is ...
, opened in 1975, meant the use of the Great North Road for the transport of cargo destined for Zambia was much reduced.
References
External links
Map at www.greatnorthroad.orgshowing the Great North Road in Zambia from
Chirundu on the
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...
an border to
Tunduma
Tunduma is a town in Songwe Region, Tanzania, on the border between Tanzania and Zambia. It has border posts for both the Tanzam Highway and the TAZARA railway (for which it has a station) linking the two countries. It is located 103 km southwest ...
on the
Tanzania
Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...
n border.
{{Africa-road-stub
Road infrastructure in Zambia
Roads in Zambia
Trunk Roads in Zambia
Transport in Zambia