It goes westwards for 24 kilometres, bypassing Kasama Airport, to reach a junction with the D20 road, which provides access to the Chishimba Falls and the town of Mporokoso in the north-west.

[2] From the D20 junction, the M3 continues westwards for 135 kilometres, through the Kalense Toll Plaza,[3] to the town of Luwingu in the district of the same name.

It then proceeds southwards for 55 kilometres, through the Ntoposhi Toll Plaza,[3] to the town of Mansa (Capital of the Luapula Province).

In Mansa, the M3 meets the D94 road, which provides access to the resort town of Samfya on the south-western shore of Lake Bangweulu in the east.

It provides a much shorter route than the very-long circular route through Samfya, Serenje and Kapiri Mposhi for motorists wanting to travel from Mansa to the north-western area of the country and to the country's industrial and commercial hub of the Copperbelt.