from or out to the rest of Zambia, and as the only highway to cross it, the Great East road is strategically vulnerable. This neck is cut by the lower Luangwa River making a turn due south to the Zambezi, in a narrow and deep valley with steep slopes and thick vegetation, amounting in some sections to a gorge. The river is 250 to 400 m wide in this area, and flows quite fast, with a huge variation according to season. The route and its branches 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. Chipata is reached 570 km from Lusaka and the road goes on to the Malawian border 20 km further on, where it connects via Mchinji to the Malawian capital of Lilongwe, just 120 km from the border. The Great East Road has 3 tollgates (one just east of Lusaka; one between Nyimba and Petauke; one just west of Chipata). 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 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