T5 Road (Zambia)
The T5 Road is a trunk road in Zambia. It connects Chingola in the Copperbelt Province with Solwezi and Mwinilunga in the North-Western Province. The Route extends to end at a border with Angola. It is the only other road after the M18 Road that connects the towns of the North-Western and Copperbelt provinces.
| T5 trunk | |
|---|---|
| Route information | |
| Length | 545 km (339 mi) |
| Major junctions | |
| east end | T3 in Chingola |
| M8 in Mutanda | |
| west end | Angola border |
| Location | |
| Major cities | Chingola, Solwezi, Mwinilunga |
| Highway system | |
| Transport in Zambia | |
It is an alternative route to the Beira-Lobito Highway (which passes through the southern part of DR Congo) when travelling from the Copperbelt Province to Eastern Angola.
Route
The T5 Road begins north-west of the city centre of Chingola, Copperbelt Province, by the Chingola River, at an intersection with the T3 Road from Kitwe and Ndola in the south-east and the Kasumbalesa Border Post with DR Congo in the north.
The T5 begins by going west for 175 kilometres from Chingola, through the northern area of Lufwanyama District, through the new Mushindamo District of North-Western Province, to the city of Solwezi (The capital of the North-Western Province). The Road bypasses Solwezi Central and Solwezi Airport to the south. This stretch of the road is significantly important and beneficial to businesses and the transport industry, especially for mining.[1]
From Solwezi, the T5 Road turns south-south-west and goes for 30 kilometres to the town of Mutanda (still in Solwezi District), where it meets the M8 Road (Mutanda-Zambezi Road), which is a road connecting to Kasempa, Kabompo and Zambezi Town. As they meet at a T-Junction and the road southwards is the M8, the T5 becomes the road westwards.
From Mutanda, the T5 travels west-north-west for 240 kilometres, through the new Kalumbila District (where it passes through Manyama and bypasses the Kalumbila mine and town), through Lumwana, to the town of Mwinilunga. At Mwinilunga, the T5 turns north-north-west and travels for 65 kilometres to the town of Ikelenge in the Ikelenge District. Ikelenge District is where the source of the Zambezi River and the Zengamina hydroelectric power plant are found.
From Ikelenge, the T5 goes west-north-west for 35 kilometres, through the Kalene Hills of Ikelenge, to end at a border post with Angola.
The road enters the Moxico Province of Angola and proceeds to the town of Caianda.