This article traces the history of Zimbabwe's roads and road traffic sector horn the turn of the century, when the country had no roads to speak of, until the Second World War, when the basic foundations for the present road system had been laid. It argues that during the Company period (up to 1923), very little was done to establish good roads. The Company was more concerned with promoting railway construction and either had no interest in building roads or was apprehensive of the likely competition to railways that would result from a good road network. It was only when Rhodesia attained responsible government status that serious attention was given to the development of roads in the country. The 1930s witnessed the replacement of old dirt roads with macadamized road surfaces as increasing traffic made dirt roads unsuitable. The article also examines the road regulations passed throughout the period under study and briefly analyses the type of labour used in the construction of roads in the country.
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