Blog

Dedicated girl believes in the empowerment of education

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An enquiring mind coupled with a fascination for bridges as a child naturally chartered Derusha Govender’s career choice towards the dynamic field of civil engineering.

She overcome financial constraints and chose to “see every challenge as an opportunity for growth”.

Armed with a BSc Civil Engineering degree from the University of KwaZulu-Natal, she believes “education is important as it assists in the path to personal development”.

Once awarded the bursary, she said SANRAL changed the outcome of her future.

“SANRAL provided me with an opportunity to improve my future through education, it also assisted in empowering and developing me as an individual.”

She is commissioned to work on the N2 Mt Edgecombe interchange project in Durban and is aware of several other road improvement projects such as the M19/N2 Umgeni Interchange and Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project.

Whilst enjoying a progressive career, she hopes to constantly be guided by the wholesome values which she aspires to including respect, honesty and sincerity.

“The higher purpose in developing infrastructure is to serve the nation by serving its people.”

She is determined to obtain her Master’s degree and achieve Professional Engineer status within the next five years while employed as a project manager in training.

With hard work and perseverance in mind, she hopes to be acknowledged by her seniors for her contribution to the civil engineering industry and looks forward to a flourishing career with SANRAL.

 

 

 

 

Young lad attracted to local engineering projects

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Daniel Govender was given the opportunity to be exposed to a formal working environment with the aid of a SANRAL bursary.

His attraction to the industry stemmed from a high school outing to the longest bridge in South Africa, where he was exposed to the technical allignments of engineering work.

He always had a flair for maths, science and engineering drawing and was strongly inclined towards a career in civil engineering.

“Civil engineering is one of the few professions where one can be involved in the entire project life cycle whilst still being able to partake in the construction phase,” said Daniel.

He has been placed on the Eteza Overload Control Facility and interchange project for his training as a candidate engineer. Here, he will learn more about earthworks and pavement design, piling and bridge design,

He believes he would thrive in many SANRAL projects given his knowledge of analysis, design and management techniques in civil, geotechnical, transport, water and structural engineering.

He wants to be a professional in Engineering and study towards his Masters and Doctorate. He is committed to excel in each phase of his training including construction, laboratory work, design and project management.

“I have deep gratitude and appreciation for SANRAL. The knowledge you grasp, learn and maintain is up to yourself but also largely depends on your working environment. career.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you Sanral for the road repairs

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We as the Eastern Precinct Policing Forum would like to thank you and every person involved with the ongoing repairs of the street lights on Atlas road, Great North Road and the link between the two.

Although it is nowhere near completion, having some of these lights on for most of the past couple of weeks, have been delightful.

I am sure the community in the immediate and surrounding areas that use these roads feel exactly the same. It goes to show, with little emphasise on service delivery, the safety of the community and everyone working together, much can be achieved.

Please do keep us updated with any progress behind the scenes, as sometimes it might appear as if nothing is happening, and we know now that is not the case.

Don’t stop the good work.

Warm regards,

Hannes Verster | Eastern Precinct Policing Forum

 

Better planning through partnerships

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World Environment Day is celebrated every year to raise global awareness to take positive environmental action to protect nature and the planet Earth. It is run by the United Nations Environment Programme.

When it comes to the environment, SANRAL believes in addressing issues of local and global concern.

Their initiatives include, but are not limited to:

  • Banning tar products and a switch to asphalt, which is bitumen-based and more environmentally friendly.
  • Research and test road surface types for noise reduction in sensitive areas.
  • Install renewable energy and build wind and solar-powered variable message systems that protect endangered minnows and moved baobab trees.
  • Recycle and reuse existing material from roads surfaces in upgrade projects.

The environmental plan in progress is to find the balance of a sustainable road network that meets the requirements of both people and the environment. In order to do this, SANRAL borrows concepts from international standards and keeps up-to-date with the latest developments.

They are currently looking to adapt ‘Greenroads’, a rating tool developed by the University of Washington, for use as an indicator for sustainable practices in South Africa’s road systems.

Their environmental guidelines undergo relevant legislative requirements and continues to improve internal guidelines for environmental management of its activities.

SANRAL believes in the monitoring of environmental awareness and regular site inspections by project teams, environmental authorities, and internal and external audit teams are condicted to evaluate the state of each cause.

There is a plan in place to change the energy mix in South Africa so that 40% of all energy will be provided by renewable sources by 2030.

Dalpark uses a solar plant to provide power for its mainline toll plaza operations, as well as at the surrounding workshop and training centre.

For Environment Day, as well as Environment month, SANRAL will assist in its role to help reduce its carbon footprint.

Six things you need to know about the new e-toll dispensation

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Government has listened to your concerns and responded with a new, simplified e-toll dispensation system that addresses affordability and simplicity for road users. This is what you need to know about the system:

  • One tariff of 30c per kilometre will apply to all light motor vehicles.
  • E-toll fees will now be capped at R225 a month, from R450.
  • There will be no charges for people who pass under fewer than 30 gantries a year.
  • Penalties on unpaid accounts will be capped at R450.
  • Fees that are currently outstanding will be discounted by 60%, with six months to pay.
  • While users with unpaid e-toll fees will still be able to renew their vehicle license, the disc will not be issued until the all outstanding fees are settled.

Click on the link where the new e-toll dispensation is unpacked: http://bit.ly/1Eutp62

6 things you need to know about the new e-toll dispensation

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SANRAL uses real time video to intercept three gunmen on the highway

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On a Monday evening at 7PM, Japie Roos’ car broke down near the Old Johannesburg Road off-ramp. While waiting for his family to attend to him, three armed gunmen attacked him and forced him out of his car. 

Our team monitoring the Freeway Management System detected the stationery vehicle and events, and immediately dispatched a patrol car to assist. 

IRU crew helps road user avoid missing flight

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A couple of months ago Modderfontein Incident Response Unit(IRU) and the Towing Response Unit(TRU), were dispatched to the R24 East between Edenvale and Barbara Road off ramp for a stationary vehicle blocking the left hand emergency and slow lane, upon arrival, scene safety was done. While waiting on the TRU another vehicle broke down just behind the scene.

Luckily the IRU crew consisting of Owen, Maweso, Cynthia and Innocent managed to attend to both vehicle’s.

It turned out to be an elderly gentleman who’s car had a flat wheel, and he was rushing to the airport to catch a flight. Upon assessing the situation Owen took the initiative and changed the flat wheel in order to get the Gentleman on his way again. A couple of days later, the gentleman’s wife contacted the team to extend her gratitude to the guys for helping her husband. 

There’s an art to making roads safer

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The drive to promote road safety continued with the 2nd annual Chekicoast Art Competition, which announced its young winners yesterday. The winners created pieces that helped teach the rules of the road, and how better to navigate them safely. In fact, part of the judging criteria for the competition was using the correct traffics signs and signals!

The youngest winner was nine year-old Avuyile, from East London. Her winning work focused on how the road belongs to everyone; making it everyone’s responsibility to look out for each other. She, and all the other winners, got a R5000 gift voucher.

The Grade 4 to 6 category was won by a young man who’s had success in art competitions before: twelve year-old Durban native, Abhay Charan Jalim. Despite having limited access to art resources, Abhay has found ways to express himself in vivid colour.

Just south of Bloemfontein, in a special art studio run by learners for learners, is where we find our next winner: 16 year-old Keitumetse Motshwane. He decided to enter the competition as he was concerned by high road deaths. His solution, (other than art)? More traffic officers; a profession he wants to pursue.

Finally, aspiring jewellery designer, Gabrielle Lourens took the Grade 10 to 12 prize. The young woman from Pretoria, who is now chasing her dream at TUT, is passionate about teaching road safety habits to young people. And she thinks art is the perfect way to do it.

We agree, which is why next year’s SANRAL Road Safety Art competition will open soon, with a new category for older students. Keep an eye peeled for more details.

SANRAL R150m R71 Upgrade eases congestion during Easter

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Exactly a year ago, if you were travelling on the R71 interchange towards Moria, the challenges you’d be met by would include constant congestion — resulting from a clogged-up two lane road running from Polokwane to Tzaneen, and consequently, a single lane for traffic coming from the opposite direction. This traffic jam would reach its peak around Easter time, when millions of pilgrims assemble at the R71 interchange to access Moria, their central place of worship.

This would be coupled by a host of unavoidable road safety risks, as cars wanting to make an intersection from the interchange into Moria would do so purely at their own risk — without a guidance system or traffic control measures. To add insult to injury, you’d have to be vigilant of the thousands of pedestrians alighting minibus taxis, a factor which has contributed to the growing number of pedestrian fatalities. But this was 12 months ago, and the situation has improved dramatically, thanks to the intervention of the South African National Roads Agency of Roads, generally referred to as SANRAL.

Costing R150 million according to Billy Law, President Engineer of SNA Civil & Structural Engineers, the R71 bridge construction has alleviated the congestion significantly and has been met by great jubilation by both ZCC congregants and local residents of Limpopo: for the former, alleviated congestion means pilgrims can make the mission to Moria more quicker and safer; for the residents, new jobs have been created, reducing the unemployment and the resultant crime.

The R71 bridge construction milestones were achieved jointly by the construction of a dual carriageway, a widening the road, and a road overlay. Furthermore, a pedestrian walkway was constructed for pedestrians at the shoulder of the interchange to provide easy access to pilgrims accessing Moria.

SANRAL Project Engineer, Riaan Oerlemans, is happy with the operational tempo and cooperation at the site, and by the fact that they were able to meet their Easter deadline.

Louw Venter, the Contracts Manager for Hillary Construction, said the old intersection was a level ground intersection, and the new one is a free flow intersection with a bridge that leads to the church and a temporary road that offsets the interruption of the general traffic.

Through this project, SMMEs (Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises) were involved in the upgrade of the interchange, of which six were black owned. The anticipated spend of SMMEs is R9 120 000.