FRED Engineering continues its work in Southern Africa with a new contract under the World Bank-funded Resilient and Strategic Transport Operational Enhancement Project (RESTORE), managed by the Roads Authority (RA) of Malawi.
Following our ongoing engagement on the Liwonde – Matawale (M003) road safety audit, this second assignment extends our safety engineering services to crucial transport infrastructure in the Lower Shire Valley.
The project targets two primary road links prone to seasonal washouts and flooding:
- M001 Corridor (Thabwa – Chikwawa – Bangula): 90 km of paved trunk road connecting Blantyre to the southern districts.
- S152 Feeder Road (Thabwa – Chitseko / Seveni): 59 km of unpaved road serving agricultural and local communities.
The primary objective is to embed a Safe System approach into the design and operational phases of these corridors, aiming for a minimum 3-Star iRAP rating across all road user categories (pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists, and vehicle occupants).
Our team will execute tasks structured around key project phases:
- Multi-Stage Road Safety Audits (RSA): Conducting independent safety evaluations through Stage 1 (Preliminary Design), Stage 2 (Detailed Design), Stage 3 (Pre-Opening), and Stage 4 (Post-Opening/Defects Liability Period).
- iRAP Assessments (SR4D & SR4S): Running Star Rating for Designs (SR4D) and Star Rating for Schools (SR4S) protocols to quantify risk reductions and formulate a Safer Roads Investment Plan (SRIP).
- Traffic Management & Vulnerable User Safety: Reviewing temporary traffic management plans during construction and evaluating high-density pedestrian/school zones within 100 meters of the right of way.
- Capacity Building: Delivering technical workshops for Roads Authority engineers and local partners on iRAP methodology, the Vida platform, and Safe System design principles.
Work will comply with local engineering standards (including the Malawi Road Safety Engineering Manual), regional SATCC guidelines, and international benchmarks such as EU Directive 2019/1936 on road infrastructure safety management.
By combining empirical crash data analysis, field inspections, and predictive modeling, FRED Engineering aims to assist the Roads Authority in delivering climate-resilient road designs that reduce traffic-related fatalities and severe injuries.
Photo by Omar Hakeem on Unsplash
