The new Musina Ring Road is now open to traffic. This R640 million SANRAL project is in one of the busiest parts of Limpopo Province, which connects South Africa to the rest of the SADC Region. This new road, which controls traffic into and out of Musina, will facilitate the free flow of traffic to the Beitbridge border with Zimbabwe. It promotes better mobility and the safe movement of goods, services and people in and around Musina, and will be instrumental in facilitating greater economic activity between South Africa and neighbouring countries.

“Over the last three years, the project created 275 full-time jobs at a cost of more than R28 million. The Musina Ring Road Project used accredited training service providers to train SMMEs and local labourers who worked on this project. There was an allocation of R51 million which was spent on local subcontractors.

“We would not have been able to complete the Musina Ring Road project if it was not for a partnership between government, the private sector and local communities,” said Minister of Transport Fikile Mbalula. The Musina Ring Road diverts the N1 traffic around the border town, much to the relief of motorists, business leaders and taxi organisations. Owen Simba, site manager at local business Makali Construction said: “My construction company built the bridges and the culverts at an investment of R114 million. We created jobs for 12 skilled labourers as well as 23 local general workers.

“As the project progressed, we added more people. SANRAL is committed to creating equitable access for small contractors, particularly black-owned enterprises, through its procurement processes.” Project engineer for SANRAL’s Northern Region, Hennie Kotze, said the new road brings relief to roads in the Musina central business district, where trucks travel to and from the Beitbridge border post. Before the Ring Road, more than 1,000 heavy-duty vehicles and trucks used the N1, passing through the Musina CBD daily, causing significant damage to the road infrastructure in the town. Cross-border truck driver Joseph Masinire from Zimbabwe said the new road would ease congestion between Musina and Beitbridge border post, and save travel time. Musina business leader Mosses Matshivha said the new road would reduce dust blown up by traffic, which created health hazards for residents. He said it would also save travel time for road users and reduce vehicle operating costs. “Our businesses will do well because heavy-duty vehicles are no longer sharing the narrow roads with local road users and pedestrians,” said Matshivha.