As of 2019, the section of this road from Mtwara to Mbinga, in  Ruvuma Region, was already sealed with bitumen. In April 2019, John Pombe Magufuli, the President of Tanzania, officially flagged off the beginning of the upgrade of the section between Mbinga and Mbanda Bay. Improvements include (a) widening the carriageway to (b) digging culverts and drainage channels (c) improving the surface to class II bitumen standard. The work is expected to conclude in 2021.
