[2] The M5 road suffers occasional closures due to heavy rain causing river flooding and washouts of bridges or their approaches.
[2] In 2020, a portion of the M5 road between Salima and Nkhotakota was closed at the Chikwawa Trading Center due to washout of the Lingadzi Bridge approach.
[4] In 2022, the deterioration of the Chingeni-Balaka-Zomba segment (blamed on funding misallocation by former president Peter Mutharika) became a national political issue.
[5][6] A K37 billion rehabilitation of a 60 km Salima-Benga segment by China Railway 20 began in November, 2022, and was expected to complete in December, 2024.
[7][8] The government obtained a loan from the African Development Bank for rehabilitation of a 104 km segment from Benga to Dwangwa, scheduled to start in April, 2024.