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 first
Luangwa Bridge was built in 1932 with funding from the
Beit Trust. On the eastern side, once the road had climbed up the difficult terrain onto the Luangwa-Zambezi
watershed at
Nyimba,
Petauke, and
Katete, the going is easier.
Route The T4 begins north of
Lusaka Central, at a roundabout junction with the
T2 road (
Great North Road;
Cairo Road) and the
M9 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 the
University of Zambia main campus. Immediately after the
Kenneth Kaunda International Airport turn-off in the
Chelstone suburb (the last suburb of Lusaka), the T4 crosses into
Chongwe District. From the airport turn-off, the T4 heads eastwards for 30 kilometres, though the Chongwe Toll Plaza, 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, crossing the
Chongwe River, to the town of Rufunsa in the
district of the same name. From Rufunsa, the T4 goes eastwards for 70 kilometres to meet the northern terminus of the
D145, which goes southwards to the town of
Luangwa (85 kilometres away). Immediately after the Luangwa turn-off, the T4 leaves
Lusaka Province and crosses the
Luangwa River into the
Eastern Province as the
Luangwa Bridge.From the Luangwa Bridge, the T4 heads east-north-east for 165 kilometres, following the near borderline with
Mozambique, through the town of Nyimba, through the Alexander Grey Zulu Toll Plaza, to bypass
Petauke 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 of
Katete, where it meets the northern terminus of the
T6 road, which goes southwards to the border with
Mozambique. The T6 is the main route used by motorists to access Mozambique from Zambia. From Katete, the T4 heads east-north-east for 80 kilometres, though the Reuben C Kamanga Toll Plaza, to enter the city of
Chipata, where it meets the southern terminus of the
M12 road (which goes north to
Lundazi and the
South 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 to
Chadiza. The T4 continues east-south-east for 18 kilometres to reach the
Mwami Border with
Malawi, where it crosses the national boundary and becomes the
M12 road of Malawi, which connects to the city of
Lilongwe (Capital of Malawi; 120 kilometres away). The border settlement on the Malawian side is named
Mchinji.
Branches In addition to its east-west Lusaka-Malawi axis, the Great East Road links north to
Lundazi (using the
M12 road from Chipata), north-west to the
South Luangwa National Park (using the D104 road from Chipata), south-east to Mozambique (using the
T6 road from Katete), and, in
Lusaka Province, south to the
Lower Zambezi National Park and the town of
Luangwa at the Luangwa-Zambezi river confluence (using the D145 road from the Luangwa Bridge). In the 1960s the Great East road was paved, opening up the Luangwa Valley (and to some extent,
Lake Malawi) to tourism. At times the surface has deteriorated considerably. The section between Katete and the Luangwa Bridge was repaired and reconstructed around 2002/3. ==Strategic significance==