View source for Walvis Bay-Ndola-Lubumbashi Development Road

{{Short description|Road in Southern Africa}}
{{Infobox road
| country = NAM
| name = Trans-Caprivi highway
| map = Map NAM WBCG-Corridors.svg
| map_notes = Corridors in Namibia
| length_km = 2700
}}
[[Image:Caprivi-escort.jpg|thumb|300px|Namibian military escort through the Caprivi Strip.]]
'''The Walvis Bay-Ndola-Lubumbashi Development Road''', formerly known as the Trans-Caprivi Corridor and until 2004 the Trans-Caprivi Highway, begins in [[Walvis Bay]]. It runs through [[Rundu]] in northeastern [[Namibia]] and along the [[Caprivi Strip]] to [[Katima Mulilo]] on the [[Zambezi|Zambezi River]], which forms the border between Namibia and [[Zambia]]. The [[Katima Mulilo Bridge]] spans the river to the Zambian town of [[Sesheke]]. From there, the road continues as the [[M10 Road (Zambia)|M10 Road]] to [[Livingstone, Zambia|Livingstone]], where it connects to the main north–south highway to [[Lusaka]] and extends to the [[Copperbelt Province|Copperbelt]].<ref>{{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131224113143/http://www.wbcg.com.na/corridors/trans-caprivi-corridor.html |date=December 24, 2013 |title=''Trans-Caprivi Corridor.'' Walvis Bay Corridor Group, ''Date unknown'' }}, accessed on 27 August 2014.</ref>
The Trans-Caprivi highway is a section of the [[Walvis Bay]] Corridor, a [[trade route]] linking land-locked Zambia (and neighbouring countries such as [[DR Congo]], [[Malawi]] and [[Zimbabwe]]) to the Walvis Bay port on the [[Atlantic Ocean]]. An example of the function of the corridor as a trade route is that trucks carry copper ore concentrate from the [[Dikulushi Mine]] in South-East DR Congo across Zambia and down the Trans-Caprivi highway to the copper smelter at [[Tsumeb]] in Namibia. The refined copper is then exported from Namibian ports.
== Route ==
As the name suggests, the corridor starts at [[Walvis Bay]] (in [[Namibia]]), passes through [[Ndola]] (in [[Zambia]]) and ends at [[Lubumbashi]] (in [[DR Congo]]).
The corridor begins in the coastal town of [[Walvis Bay]] as the [[B2 road (Namibia)|B2 road]], heading northwards to the coastal town of [[Swakopmund]] (a distance of 35km), where it turns eastwards. It heads eastwards from Swakopmund, through [[Karibib]], to the town of [[Okahandja]] (a distance of 290km), where it reaches a junction with the [[B1 road (Namibia)|B1 road]]. At this junction, the B2 ends and the corridor becomes the B1 northwards. The entire section from Walvis Bay to Okahandja is shared with the [[Trans-Kalahari Corridor]].
From Okahandja, it heads northwards as the B1 for 290km, through [[Otjiwarongo]], to the town of [[Otavi]] (south-west of [[Tsumeb]]), where it reaches a junction with the [[B8 road (Namibia)|B8 road]]. At this junction, the corridor becomes the B8 east-north-east and heads for 345km to the town of [[Rundu]], where it meets the [[B10 road (Namibia)|B10 road]] and becomes the main road through the [[Caprivi Strip]]. The section from Okahandja to Otavi is shared with the [[Tripoli–Cape Town Highway]].
The corridor resumes being the B8 road and heads eastwards from Rundu for 510km to the border town of [[Katima Mulilo]], where it crosses the national boundary in a northerly direction to enter [[Zambia]]. Immediately after crossing the border, it reaches a junction with Zambia's [[M10 Road (Zambia)|M10 road]]. The corridor becomes the M10 and immediately crosses the [[Zambezi River]] in a north-easterly direction as the [[Katima Mulilo Bridge]] to enter the town of [[Sesheke]].
From Sesheke, the corridor heads eastwards as the M10 for 135km to the small town of [[Kazungula]], where it meets the [[M19 Road (Zambia)|M19 road]] (which provides access to the near [[Kazungula Bridge]] border with [[Botswana]]). From Kazungula, it heads eastwards for 70 kilometres as the M10 to the city of [[Livingstone, Zambia|Livingstone]] (10 km north of the [[Victoria Falls]]), where it reaches a junction with the [[T1 Road (Zambia)|T1 road]]. At this junction, the M10 ends and the corridor becomes the T1 north-eastwards.
From Livingstone, it heads north-east as the T1 for 420km, through [[Choma, Zambia|Choma]], to reach a junction with the [[T2 Road (Zambia)|T2 road]] about 10km south of [[Kafue]]. At this junction, the T1 ends and the corridor becomes the T2 northwards. It heads northwards as the T2 for 55km to the city of [[Lusaka]] (capital city of Zambia). From Lusaka, it heads northwards as the T2 for 200km, through [[Kabwe]], to [[Kapiri Mposhi]], where it reaches a junction with the [[T3 Road (Zambia)|T3 road]] and enters the [[Copperbelt]] region. At this junction, the corridor becomes the T3 northwards. The section from Livingstone to Kapiri Mposhi is shared with the [[Cairo-Cape Town Highway]].
From Kapiri Mposhi, it heads northwards as the T3 for 170km, through the city of [[Ndola]], to the city of [[Kitwe]]. From Kitwe, it heads northwards for 90km, through [[Chingola]], to the border town of [[Kasumbalesa, Zambia|Kasumbalesa]], where it crosses the national boundary in a northerly direction to enter [[DR Congo]] and become the [[National Road 1 (Democratic Republic of the Congo)|N1 route]]. From [[Kasumbalesa, Democratic Republic of the Congo|Kasumbalesa]], the corridor heads north-north-west as the N1 route for 100 kilometres to the city of [[Lubumbashi]]. The section from Kafue (south of Lusaka) to Lubumbashi is shared with the [[Beira–Lobito Highway]].
==See also==
*[[Trans-African Highway network]]
==References==
{{Reflist}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070723010826/http://www.namport.com.na/content/show.php?m=6 Namport (National Ports Authority of Namibia) website] accessed 16 February 2007.
*[http://www.afdb.org/portal/page African Development Bank/United Nations Economic Commission For Africa: "Review of the Implementation Status of the Trans African Highways and the Missing Links: Volume 2: Description of Corridors".] August 14, 2003. Retrieved 14 July 2007.
*''Michelin Motoring and Tourist Maps:'' "955: Africa Central and South" (2000), "953: Africa North and West" (1996), "954 Africa North-East and Arabia" (1998).  Michelin Travel Publications, Paris.
[[Category:Roads in Namibia]]
[[Category:Roads in Zambia]]
[[Category:International road networks]]
[[Category:Zambezi Region]]
[[Category:Road transport in Africa]]
[[Category:Roads in the Democratic Republic of the Congo]]
{{Africa-road-stub}}
{{Highways of Namibia}}