Blog - Page 169 of 175 - SANRAL Stop Over

Discover a treasure trove of South African history on the Platinum Highway

28Jul2015

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The N4 is a road paved with surprises and if your next road trip leads to the Platinum Highway be sure you discover the mysteries of this road.

Find old cities in ruin that were abandoned more than 200 years ago, thousands of male bullfrogs that live underneath the highway until they set off to find a mate and so much more along the N1 and N4.

Discover what the N1 and the N4 have in store for you in a book entitled “The Platinum Road” by journalist and editor, Peter Delmar. Sponsored by Bakwena, the project aims to bring historical value to road users on these roads and to promote tourism along roads usually unbeknown to tourists.

The book had great feedback and has since been turned into a mobile application narrated by Talk Radio 702’s, David O’ Sullivan. The application will take users on a journey of discovery across various landmarks on the Platinum Highway.

Each stop has an array of historically rich information and heritage that has shaped South African history. Users will find themselves travelling from Pretoria to Brits discovering a history filled with conflict and Voortrekkers, to areas between Rustenburg and Swartruggers, home to one of the wealthiest tribes in Africa.

Getting businesses on the road

21Jul2015

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SANRAL prides itself in its involvement in helping grow small businesses and employment, especially among the youth. The SANRAL incubator programme recruits and trains young graduates to help the youth realise their entrepreneurial potential and increase their level of skill.

Fika Mtwesi was able to realise her potential at the age of only 24 years old. As a civil engineer graduate, Mtwesi was looking for experience as an internship when she saw a recruitment ad for the incubator programme. She applied and joined the programme and was able to, through SANRAL’s guidance, established her very own company. SPAX Construction is one of the sub-contractors in one of the road access projects along the R61.

SANRAL aided in helping Fika create employment and her company has a steady 20 employees. This helps empower her community.

I am so grateful that the SANRAL team came up with the incubator programme and ensuring its success. The SANRAL Team has been by my side from the very beginning until now

Fika further states that the next step for her company is to introduce hands-on educational and training skills to create a practical and growing environment.

Where to next? Top 5 N2 must-stops

16Jul2015

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On the N2: elephants, cycads and unspoilt beauty.

For all those road trip lovers, wanderlusters and weekend travellers, here are the top 5 must-sees journeying on the N2.

In an alluring country such as South Africa, there is often too little time to explore the rich vastness of its beauty.But this can all change when you travel on the N2 through the Eastern Cape, discovering places often not heard of.

The N2 is part of the SANRAl network of roads around South Africa connecting major areas all around South Africa. The N2 is the longest numbered road in South Africa running from Cape Town through to KwaZulu-Natal and steering inward towards ending in Mpumalanga.

However, there is just too much for you to take in all at once, so we are making it easier for you by giving you the top 5 places to visit from the N2.

1. Addo Elephant National Park
Starting your drive in Port Elizabeth, driving towards Grahamstown, you can take the turnoff to elephant bliss. Besides having the opportunity to spot these majestic beasts, you also have the opportunity to see buffalo, lion, leopard and rhino, which makes this the perfect spot to indulge in your love for wildlife.

2. Shamwari Private Game Reserve
Again, you can indulge in your love for nature by exploring this reserves array of wildlife and plant life, whilst enjoying the luxury accommodation and spa facilities.

3. The Wild Coast
Continuing on the N2, you can drive through the Wild Coast, said to be one of the world’s most beautiful places. Targeting family vacationers, you can find family accommodation, unspoilt hills, flawless beaches and untamed wildlife. The perfect getaway is waiting just off the N2!

4. Qunu
In loving memory of the Father of South Africa, you can visit Qunu, the birthplace of Nelson Mandela. This is where Nelson Mandela lived before his active political career. This is also where Nelson Mandela was buried.

5. Silaka Nature Reserve
Near Port St Johns, lies this majestic forested valley just off the R61 from the N2. This is truly a vacation spot for rest, peace and quiet surrounded by forests, grasslands and a beautiful coastline.

Safe access for the St Barnabas hospital

14Jul2015

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A project focusing on road safety and community development nearby Mthatha and Port St Johns in the Eastern Cape is underway.

It involves the construction of a dual carriageway through the village of Ntlaza as well as the construction of community access roads.

Community access roads were needed when many access points onto the R61 were closed. Traffic was led through community access roads to intersections that met design guidelines. The area also required upgraded access to the St Barnabas regional hospital, as well as the Ntlaza taxi rank.

In order to get this project going, construction training was done with 10 local SMME contractors.

SMMEs concentrated on constructing the community access roads with a macadam pavement covered by asphalt.

The project began in August 2012 and was completed in June 2014. The project budget was R110 million of which R20 million was allocated to SMMEs for the work done on the community access roads.

Approximately R700 000 was spent on the training of the local SMMEs and a further R73 000 on the training of local community members. A total of 173 000 person hours of employment have been created with an amount of R7.2 million spent on wages and salaries for local community members.

Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics takes preference

13Jul2015

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Our partnership with the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University’s has allowed for the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Pipeline Project (STEM PP) programme to expand and deliver positive results.

STEM PP is designed to develop children to become extraordinary citizens of our country through learning experiences in physical science. The primary objective of the programme is to increase the amount of good grades done by the grade 12 learners to enable them to continue with tertiary training in engineering and science.

We support this programme by funding the bulk of the activities that take place at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University.

Our goal is to prepare pupils for individual practical work and experiments, which will be of great value when they enter tertiary studies. We want to enhance understanding and comprehension of the theory taught at school, as well as expose learners to Information Communication Technology.

Science teachers in the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan area are invited to participate in the initiative. They are introduced to methods on how to conduct experiments, which enhance learners’ confidence and ability to produce in the classrooms.

Schools are selected on the basis of a number of criteria. We focus on past academic achievements, enthusiasm among the teachers and see if the school has an interest in improving the performance of its learners.

Last year, learners were inspired to apply for our scholarships. Their applications were partnered with motivational letters and many learners who finished the programme qualified for scholarships in 2014.

Several of the students who participated in STEM PP over the past number of years have received bursaries to study engineering disciplines at various universities. Their success has confirmed the value of STEM PP and the ongoing quality of the relationship with the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University.

University of the Free State ICT Labs

10Jul2015

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We are providing high school learners with the potential for hands-on experience in an exciting scientific environment.

The University of the Free State launched the e-Education in Science and Mathematics programme to encourage more learners to enter into science-related studies and careers.

The programme is in place at both the Bloemfontein and Qwaqwa campuses of the University of the Free State and is able to operate because of the partnership between The School of Open Learning and us. We aim to support the learners in several ways, helping them get to the programme and making their marks available so they can track their successes and be noticed by bursary programmes.

During the three-year programme, learners are exposed to at least 30 sessions. Their efforts are noticed constantly as we aim to get them heavily involved each step of the way.

The sessions are designed to meet the needs of the technology driven “Y-generation” by using the advantages of Information Communication Technologies in their workflow.

We ensure they stay motivated by keeping energy levels high and enthusiasm in check by encouraging them to participate in events such as visits to the Boyden Astronomical Research Observatory near Bloemfontein and rocket building.

We expect all learners to attend all the ICT laboratory sessions and make a long-term commitment towards attending the further education and training phase of the programme.

Providing essential work experience with internships

9Jul2015

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We aim to equip engineering students with practical work experience by providing them with internships.

To offer them practical experience, we partner up with our contractors and consultants.

Sesethu Tywabi

Sesethu Tywabi was offered an internship while studying for her National Diploma in Civil Engineering at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology.

During the one-year internship, she was placed with two major companies working on construction projects on the N7, N1 and N12 roads.

She thinks it’s a great start to further one’s future career.

The knowledge she gained while working on these projects enabled her to achieve distinctions in a number of subjects when she returned to the university.

Christiaan Hendrik Hanekom

Determined to prove his capabilities in engineering and earn the respect of his peers, Christiaan Hendrik Hanekom believes his internship with us resulted in a world of opportunity and endless possibilities for him.

He said he embraced the opportunity to work for us as a very unique learning experience. He had to grasp things quickly without people having to repeat themselves.

The support system and team effort has motivated Hanekom to reach for the stars and climb high up the SANRAL ladder.

This is proof that hard work does pay and Hanekom has been offered a four-year contract with us.

Our commitment to the youth of our country

8Jul2015

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We invest in education by investing in learners and students

To identify and track the academic strength of high school pupils in Grades 10 to 12, we launched a scholarship programme. The platform allows us to follow individual career paths in science and engineering.

Since we introduced these scholarships, we have managed to support more than 400 pupils across many provinces. We invested more than R6.8 million in 2013 and around 179 pupils have benefited from this.

A great example of how our scholarships programme helps individuals is the story of Kagiso Leboka. He completed his high school education in Limpopo. He is thankful for our help, as he was raised in a rural area and wasn’t able to afford accommodation, boarding fees, school uniforms and participation in activities such as the Maths and Science Olympics without our assistance.

Louise Kalp is also another success story. She was able to focus on her studies without the pressure of worrying about her school fees. Both Louise and her mother Annie feel financially and emotionally supported.

Our goal for this programme is to give high school learners engineering skills. We, as well as other organisations, need people who are willing to learn about infrastructure development in order to assist with the building and planning.

This pairs up well with our National Development Plan in which we identify maths and science as one of South Africa’s long-term goals for basic education.

Amanda Gwilika has her eyes set on becoming a civil engineer. We came to her family’s rescue at a time when she could not afford school fees anymore.

We aim to be the best support structure that motivates and enables children to be the leaders of the next generation and to be the best they can be.

University of Stellenbosch invest in Pavement Engineering

7Jul2015

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Keeping the South African roads industry at the cutting edge of global trends.

We will train the next generation of pavement engineers. How? Well with the help of University of Stellenbosch. Why? To contribute to the research that speaks to the needs of the country’s road industry.

We have used our finances to build an academic programme dedicated to the development of human capital and capacity building in the field of pavement engineering.

In order to achieve a goal that focuses on higher education, training activities and industry-driven research projects, we contribute to quality projects by improving the performance and quality in construction so that there are safer roads.

In this programme, 65% of students come from historically disadvantaged communities, which is a reflection of our commitment to diversity.

We offer specialised post-graduate courses to students and practitioners in the roads industry to keep them aware of new trends and developments in the global environment. We are also responsible for teaching at an undergraduate level, creating awareness about pavement engineering among students, as well as managing the asphalt and pavement research laboratories.

Our aim is to provide a world-class education to our students and help keep the South African roads industry at the cutting edge of global trends.

Our vision to support the Chair in Pavement Engineering over the past 13 years has made a substantial contribution to the sustainability of the country’s roads industry.

University of Cape Town take over Transport Planning & Engineering

6Jul2015

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SANRAL investing in teaching and research.

Our role in Transportation Planning and Engineering at the University of Cape Town is to provide research on transport issues affecting South Africa.

We began this initiative in 2013 with the help of Dr Mark Zuidgeest, a praised academic from the University of Twente in The Netherlands. He was brought on to coordinate academic and research activities.

The research focuses on a number of themes, including pedestrians, accessibility, transport-related social exclusion and sustainable livelihoods. The insight we find generates the safety of road users and communities living close to road networks.

The University of Cape Town will introduce an undergraduate course in transport engineering in 2016. This course is an addition to the existing courses on transport planning and infrastructure management.

Our research projects currently in progress are:

Watching activity from pedestrians along Cape Town’s freeways – with support from the University of Stellenbosch.

Assessing walkability using crowd-sourcing techniques – with support from the Indian Institute of Technology in Delhi.

Creating a Transit Network Design for Integrated Rapid Transit Systems in Cape Town – with support from the City of Cape Town.

Watching the transport interaction model system in a highly fragmented city –with the Research Institute for Knowledge Systems in The Netherlands.

Looking into smart road design in South Africa- with the University of Stellenbosch and Heijmans Infrastructure in The Netherlands.

Our intention is to be the leaders in research and scholarship, especially in collaboration with other institutions in Africa and with the local industry.