SANRAL Investing in the environment

Engineering has been part of human life since 4000BC and today SANRAL continues the proud tradition of solving human problems with construction.

SANRAL’s 22 197km network is a showcase of excellence in civil engineering and the agency is proud to be part of the best in the profession.

Civil engineering probably goes back to between 4000 and 2000BC in ancient Egypt, the Indus Valley Civilisation and Mesopotamia (ancient Iraq), when humans started to abandon their nomadic existence, which led to the need for shelters to be built.

At the same time, transportation was becoming increasingly important, leading to the development of the wheel and sailing.

Some early examples of engineering include the construction of the pyramids in Egypt (from around 2700 to 2500BC), the famous (and one of the earliest roads) Appian Way by Roman engineers (312BC) and the Romans’ widespread infrastructure of aqueducts, insulae (ancient apartment buildings), harbours, bridges, dams and roads.

These ancient examples of civil engineering are still admired today and many are tourist attractions. Some of SANRAL’s projects are also Herculean feats of engineering and design. Wait till you see the two mega-bridges that are to be erected as part of the N2 Wild Coast Road project.

The Msikaba River Bridge will cross a deep, forested gorge with high sandstone cliffs flanking its sides. It will be 580m of single-span cable-stayed bridge and the middle will be nearly 200m above the river.

Just to the north is the Mtentu River, where the other of the two planned bridges will sit more than 200m above the river and the structure will be 1132m long. It’s going to be one of a very few large concrete balanced- cantilever bridges with spans of more than 260m, in the world.

SANRAL has also been building the massive Mount Edgecombe Interchange on the N2 and has completed the upgrade of the interchange near the Zion Christian Church in Moria, Limpopo.

All road trips are vastly improved by good music and getting the music out there needs a few good road trips too.

No one experiences the majesty and the magic of being on the road quite like a touring musician. We chatted to three very different South African musicians about their music and their experiences on tour.

Madala Kunene, the King of Zulu guitar, is widely considered to be one of South Africa’s greatest guitarists.

What’s surprising is that even after five decades in the business, Kunene still takes his show on the road. When we asked him what he always remembers to pack, he laughed and said: “my guitar", which is all that really matters.

Laurie Levine is a singer/songwriter, formerly in the genre of Americana. When we chatted to her for this story, she was working on her new album, Canyons, which is a bit more indie-pop.

In the last few years, Laurie has been touring with Josie Field, an indie-soul singer. When Laurie recalls their time touring, it is “with mixed feelings”.

“It was exhausting and stressful at times, but there’s also something really rewarding about creating an experience that’s completely self- sufficient – not relying on promoters or anyone else to make it a success.”

Bokani Dyer is a jazz musician who won the Standard Bank Young Artist Award for Jazz in 2011 and the Samro Overseas Scholarship in 2013. Last year, he was also awarded a sponsorship by Concerts SA, as part of a mobility fund that allows musicians to do concerts around the country – so he took his trio on the road.

Bokani says that because music as a profession is quite social, he usually sticks around after his gigs to have a drink and chat to people. “Most shows I do, that’s how I end up. But you can’t live a reckless lifestyle, because there are practical considerations as well.”

He says being on the road is rewarding because he’s connected to quite a few people on social media who are aware of his work and are excited about the opportunity to see him live.

Between a Baobab and a hard place

As part of its environmental management, SANRAL committed to moving all the baobabs it encountered while building the new N1 highway around Musina.

It’s hard to avoid bumping into a baobab in Limpopo. When SANRAL planned the new N1 highway that would skirt Musina on the road to Beitbridge, it committed to replanting the ancient trees it encountered along the way. We visited the construction site to bear witness to the removal of the final baobab on the route.

“For all projects, we have an environmental management plan,” said Victoria Bota, SANRAL’s Northern Region Environmental Officer. “We

want to minimise or avoid adverse environmental impact.”

Two tractor loader backhoes (or TLBs), attempted to lift the last baobab to be moved onto a custom- built sled, to avoid damage to the roots as it was dragged to its new location. Unfortunately, this particular baobab had embedded its roots rather firmly in a piece of rock. A backup crane was summoned to stop the TLBs from tipping and eventually the tree was loosened from its rocky bed and dragged to its new home at the side of the highway.

A little battered, but not much worse for wear, the baobab now rests peacefully, towering above the thorn trees, soon to overlook a new freeway – and possibly become a landmark in its own right.

Crossover appeal

A pedestrian bridge that SANRAL has built in Botlokwa is literally saving lives.

Botlokwa lies on the N1 highway between Polokwane and Beitbridge. The town is divided by the roaring highway, so that people live on one side but do their shopping or attend school on the other. Paying a simple visit to a friend’s house could be a life-threatening exercise.

The elders of the community approached SANRAL with a request to re-route the highway and SANRAL decided that rather than rerouting, it would sink the road and fence it off, then build a street-level bridge for the townspeople. This way, the community would not be inconvenienced travelling from one side of town to another, but their safety would be secured.

In July 2014, the building of the road commenced. Wherever possible, SANRAL used local contractors and labour.

From the day that construction started, no further road fatalities have been recorded in the town.

“Years ago, this road was killing our people,” said Donald Solly Mohale, the community liaison officer for the project. “Once, there were five deaths and six accidents in a week. We asked SANRAL to move the road and they offered us the bridge, which we accepted with both hands. The community is happy to have the bridge and to have the agency by our side.”

Today, the bridge is a hefty structure, spanning the newly surfaced highway that flows beneath it. The community can continue their daily migration from one side of the town to the other at street level, without fearing for their lives.