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N7 Road of flowers

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When we took on the upgrade of the N7 between Melkbos and Atlantis, we were very careful in looking after the Fynbos.

Fynbos is a kind of shrubbery and heathlands that is found in the coastal plains and mountains of South Africa. The name was derived from the Dutch word ‘ fijnbosch’ meaning fine leafed bush. This vegetation is a main component of the Cape floristic region, which has different forms of Fynbos, mainly karroid shrubland, renosterveld, various thicket types and forest.

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Before we took on the project, we looked into the vegetation along the main route to Namibia before construction started. Because Fynbos has a high uniqueness and more than two-thirds of its species cannot be found elsewhere, it is essential that we preserve its habitat correctly.

Did you know, Cape Fynbos is more advanced than any other vegetation in the world?

To ensure the area was protected, a botanical study was done identifying an area of Cape Flats Sand Fynbos near the planned Melkbos Interchange that was also a transition?to the Swartland Shale Renosterveld variety.

We discovered that a substantial portion would be destroyed during the upgrade and would reduce the loss of this special species, which is on the critically endangered list. Fynbos is a highly threatened vegetation type with more than 2000 species. Major threats include invasions by exotic trees, agricultural and urban development, siviculture, climate change and frequent fires. They need all the help they can get.

They did not need to make a choice between upgrading the highway and improving traffic flows and road safety, or conserving the environment, but rather did some smart planning and adopted an alternative road alignment.

We were faced with making a decision between upgrading the highway and improving traffic flow or conserving the environment. We decided to do both, with the help of proper planning from engineers. Because of our dedication to the cause, me managed to save 25 000m2 of highly sensitive vegetation and preserve the great landscapes of surrounding Fynbos.

 

Keiskamma aloes saved

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Aloe Ferox is the official plant of the Eastern Cape Province. In appearance, the leaves have a dull blue/green look to them with a slight reddish tinge. There are usually between five and eight branches, and each branch has a head of many candelabrum flowers. Aloe has a beautiful display, attracting many bird species such as weavers, starlings and sunbirds and grows in many weather conditions. It’s mostly used for medicinal quality and is in demand by people for their skin ailments, washing routines and beauty products.

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In this instance, if it were to be damaged or removed, its farmers and the people who consume its by-products would be very upset.

In order to bypass this case, we preserved a large amount of aloes when they had to build a new bridge on the 23km of the N2 between the Green River and the Keiskamma River.

We requested a specialist study to be done by a botanist, which was conducted to analyse the realignment of the planned road upgrade, whereby the Keiskamma aloes could be saved.

Although aloes are found in many parts of South Africa, they are generally not threatened with extinction. However, the Aloe Ferox is the official plant of the Eastern Cape Province and warrants special treatment.

We need to balance our work with the natural progression of the environment. We know that roads can have a negative impact on environmental biodiversity as they fragment natural habitats, but we are doing our part in assisting nature with their plans.

This specific project preserved the region’s heritage as well as?its biodiversity. The old stone-pitched storm water channels were not destroyed, but rather merged into a new design, preserving the look and feel of the Keiskamma River crossing.

A thousand plants were unaffected by construction and the rest of the habitat in unaffected areas were protected.

 

Trout rescued with artificial fish ladder

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We are in charge of a new rehabilitation programme that allows for fishes to survive disruptions to their environment. In order to do this, a fish ladder will be created.

A fish ladder is also also known as a fishway, fishpass or fish steps. It is a structure on or around artificial and natural barriers such as dams, locks and waterfalls, to facilitate fishes’ natural migration.

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On completing the ladder, we brought relief for motorists in Limpopo and have saved the trout in the area too. The way in which we approached this was to accommodate both the rehabilitated road and the fishes in the surrounding lakes. When asked to take control of the road rehabilitation on a major regional road in Limpopo near Stanford Lake College, we noticed that the bridge was too small to accommodate the rehabilitated road.

Upgrading the bridge meant that the trout would be cut off from their spawning grounds. Trout travel downstream during their lifetime but return to their place of birth when breeding. Because the water under the bridge was very shallow and spread out, they would not be able to swim upstream.

We are aware that trout fishing is important in the Haenertsburg/Magoebaskloof area, so our environmentally friendly approach was to add a fish ladder.

After the fish ladder was installed, the trout were able to swim and jump upstream to begin the cycle of their lives again.

Even though we are in the nature of building, upgrading and maintaining roads wherever it operates, it is very careful to take the environment into account, which is evident in their initiative in setting up a fish ladder.

N3 De Beers Expressway closer to realization

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The De Beers Expressway connecting Keeversfontein in KwaZulu-Natal with Warden in the Free State is close to being completed.

When a new road of a certain size is built, there are many environmental requirements that need to be met. These include obtaining permits and doing an environmental impact report.

For the planned De Beers Expressway, 21 specialist studies were accepted. For this specific road to be built, an array of issues needed to be resolved before they started.

The planned route will pass through a wetland area and affect local flora, fauna and birds.

In order for the expressway to be built, The Department of Water and Sanitation and the South African Heritage Resources Agency are contacted to ensure we have met the guidelines. Due to the amount of mammals, fish, birds and plants living in sections of wetlands, special measures are to be taken to help release each living species into another area.

Rare and endangered plant species will be removed and positioned in an on-site nursery and replanted elsewhere.

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Tunnels and bridges will be designed to provide sufficient space for animals to access under the road and noise barriers will be constructed alongside the road so they won’t disturb feeding, roosting and breeding of birds.

According to the City of Joburg’s bylaws, no person may climb upon, break, damage or in any way mark or paint on any tree on any public road within the municipal area of the Council, and no person may, without the prior written permission of the Council, lop, top, trim, cut down or remove any such tree unless the person is authorised to do so in terms of these by-laws or any other law.

So when trees need to to be relocated, we have to get permits in line with the National Forestry Act.

We also needed to ensure that we are in line with The Agricultural Resources and Biodiversity?Acts, which require the removal of alien vegetation so that the plants do not take over.

The De Beers Expressway faced a series of issues during construction, however we put an Environmental Management Programme together that ensured we were following the bylaws and the completion was done within guidelines of The Agricultural Resources and Biodiversity?Acts. In future, we will make sure a programme is always drawn up if we ever face similar issues like this again.

 

 

 

 

Sun power for Toll Plaza

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Going off the grid is an ideal scheme when it comes to power usage. This was the focus when it came to the Dalpark Plaza on the N17 near Boksburg on the East Rand when we decided to use a solar plant to provide power for all toll operations.

However, using solar panels for a toll plaza is not a new concept. In December 2013, Zimbabwe installed the world’s first plaza without a grid connection.

The plaza is about 20km from Bulawayo and gets most of its electricity from the solar panels that roof the lanes and collection booth. They charge two battery banks for night-time power and diesel generators have been installed as a back-up incase there is less supply in winter, when there are fewer hours of daylight.

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Dalpark plaza is running completely on solar power and managed to do so within our budget.

When the panels were installed, we ensured proper testing was done so they could withstand weather conditions such as wind, rain, sunlight, heat, cold, salt and hail, as well as prepare against areas of theft.

Dalpark is an extension of our commitment to the environment and the country’s green energy drive. This product is a sign of how we intend to proceed in the future.

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We are aware of the impact road building has on the environment and know that land is transformed, water resources are affected and used, substances are released in the air and waste is created. We take all of this information into account and aim to ensure we are contributing to a sustainable development.

Now that we have managed to solar power the first toll plaza in Gauteng, it makes way for possibilities in other regions too.

Ermelo to get a ring road

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A traffic study of the town of Ermelo was conducted by us. After monitoring the intake of cars which link to Ermelo through three major national routes – the N2, N11 and N17, a ring road was proposed to ease congestion and assist in traffic flow.

A ring road is a road or a series of connected roads encircling a town or city. It comprises a subset of freeways that circle the City of Johannesburg, South Africa and the Greater Johannesburg Metropolitan Area. The ring road’s purpose is to allow traffic to bypass the city along fast-speed highways and is also used by local residents to commute between work and home.

For such properties to exist, we needed to introduce a new technology into finding a solution for the problem. They made use of an aerial survey to examine the constant traffic status for Ermelo. Once the problem was identified, we sent engineers out to plan a solution.

 

In order to find a solution, we needed to see what the cause of traffic was. We noticed that Ermelo is located along three major national routes – the N2, N11 and N17. All three roads are busy with freight packages such as timber, agricultural produce and coal. The more vehicles that pass through the town of Ermelo, the more traffic builds up. Therefore, traffic flow does not meet its requirements and road safety is exposed.

For engineers to start building, a great amount of planning is done to get the best result. An environmental impact report is done on the roads that will be altered to build a ring road. The road improvement plans consider what construction will do to impact biodiversity, socio-economic and heritage resources.

Once we proposed a ring road around the town of Ermelo in the Mpumalanga province, a report evaluated any environmental fatal flaws related to the ring road. The range of socio-economic impacts?that could occur were acknowledged and the engineers began with their plans.

There are currently plans in place by engineers and assessment practitioners to improve the N2 connecting East London and Mthatha in the Eastern Cape. The N2 passes through the congested central business districts of Butterworth and Dutywa, causing delays for travellers, so the goal is to change the direction and pace of traffic flow. Just like we have done with the ring road in Ermelo, there are plans in place to secure traffic flow on the N2.

Profile of environmental coordinator: Busiswe Mlambo

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An Environmental Impact Assessment is undertaken to protect the environment, but is not a barrier to growth – it is a balance between the two.

Busiswe has been in the Agency’s Eastern Region office since 2008.

She did a Bachelor’s Degree at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, an Honours in Geography which she supplemented with a Diploma in Civil Engineering: Water and Environmental Management.

Busi currently serves as an Environmental Coordinator at SANRAL and has been working in to ensure environmental compliance for road construction activities as demanded by the legislative framework. Hence, the need to keep up with current legislation changes.

She said working for SANRAL has helped to advance her career and explore all aspects of her profession.

She said her job is not office-bound and that it?was sometimes challenging to single-handedly go through piles of project documentation and respond to all of them simultaneously.

Her advice to aspiring environmental officers is: “Fully commit yourself to school and university. Know what you want and have a passion for it. Don’t pursue a career simply because everyone else is doing it.”

Going above and beyond

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We can see the big picture when it comes to the affects and benefits of partnering up with the environment. Our attitude to sustainable development is growing in positivity by the day. This commitment does not only lie in assuming our roles in building the framework to road, bridge and toll construction, but we are also aware of the progress we make with our relationship with the environment.

To go above and beyond is our goal for the immediate future. Each step we take involves a thorough evaluation process to partner or better the environment. This is done in areas such as road operation and construction, transformation of land, impact of water resources, substances being emitted into the air and generated waste. Our relationship relies on our connection with our surroundings, therefore the community and the local environments we work around are constantly monitored to keep their balance.

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In order to approach a sustainable development framework, we take on specific projects in the form of Environmental Impact Assessments that monitor ongoing processes with the appropriate legislative requirements. Our goal is to constantly improve work structure and guidelines to do our work in the most efficient manner.

Each time we take on new construction work, an Environmental Management Plan is used for projects that don’t need authorization. These plans assist with road-building activities.

As we follow through with work, there are regular updates coming through to each project, allowing for site inspections to be done by project teams, environmental authorities, and internal and external audit teams.

We note the importance of approval from government. Each projects requires different permits to follow through with the plans. These permits are often received by different entities such as The Department of Environmental Affairs, Department of Water and Forestry, Department of Agriculture and Mineral Resources, and agencies such as the SA Heritage Resources Agency.

 

We do not believe in limiting our skills, resources or partnerships. We open our projects to the law and constantly improve on their status, whether it is on solar powered toll plazas, looking after indigenous fauna or ensuring wetlands are not destroyed.

 

 

Profile of Environmental Coordinator: Mogole Mphahlele

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“We always have to find a balance between? the interests of the road users and the broader environmental and socio-economic impacts of our projects,” says Mogole Mphahlele, the Environmental Management Specialist of SANRAL.

“Our country’s economy cannot grow without an adequate road infrastructure. At the?same time we have to ensure that there is adequate water for people to drink, crops to grow and food to be produced to sustain our population.”

A big part of his responsibilities is to ensure that everybody at SANRAL is updated on environmental legislation.

He also manages the relations on environmental issues between national and provincial stakeholder departments, contractors, consultants and affected communities.

His interest in nature and environmental issues was nurtured during his student days at the (then) University of the North where he completed a BSc degree and?an Honours in Botany after matriculating from the Thagaetala Secondary School near Polokwane.

As one of SANRAL’s representatives on the World Road Association (PIARC), Mogole gets the opportunity to benchmark the Agency’s environmental management against global best practices. “South Africa is right up there among the best in the world,” he says.

Profile of environmental coordinator: Victoria Botha

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An environmental coordinator plays an important role in the preservation of the environment. They are responsible for researching, formulating, and implementing the environment policies.

From humble beginnings as an intern with SANRAL, Victoria Bota’s career has blossomed into a permanent role as Environmental Coordinator in SANRAL’s Northern Region.

She was a recipient of a bursary from SANRAL to pursue her studies in Environmental Geography at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University. Prior to this, she had concentrated on Environmental Studies at the Walter Sisulu University in Mthatha in the Eastern Cape.

Some of her tasks include planning?meetings to discuss the development of?new roads; reviewing and providing input on environmental impact assessment processes and reports; coordinating planned site inspections with authorities and following up on outstanding documents for various projects.

Victoria has been privileged to work on landmark projects such as the construction of Nelspruit Ring Road and Warrenton Bridge over the Vaal Dam. Reflecting back on environmental concerns and challenges on these projects, she now expresses delight over what was once a drawing on paper being realised into road infrastructure to be proud of.