Congestion relief in one year
In March, SANRAL officially opened the new Bottelary/R300 interchange, just one year after breaking ground, in partnership with the Western Cape government and the City of Cape Town. The R100m project was prioritised to alleviate congestion and the frustration endured by thousands of motorists in Kuils River, Brackenfell and surrounds. The City, Province and SANRAL, who purchased the land for the construction, each contributed one third of the project value. SANRAL will maintain the road going forward.
Cape Town executive mayor Patricia De Lille said: “I would like to say thank you to our partners, the Western Cape department of transport and public works and SANRAL Western Cape, for working with us to deliver this massive project in such a short space of time.
“This project has confirmed how partnerships are vital to achieving progress and responding to the needs of our citizens in ways that benefit and connect them to economic opportunities.”
Western Cape minister of transport and public works Donald Grant also praised the team for completing the project on schedule and within budget.
Cape Town is the most congested city in South Africa, which is why the government has developed an extensive congestion strategy that promotes the adoption of flexible working hours for people making their daily commute from the suburbs to Cape Town CBD, the use of reliable public transport alternatives like the BRT system, carpooling and working from home, where possible.
The city and the province are leading by example – piloting the flexible working hours with their staff, in a bid to reduce congestion.
SANRAL Western Region Manager Kobus Van der Walt commended this progressive approach.
“Building roads is core to what we do at SANRAL. However, there’s so much more to it. If our road infrastructure is to fit into the concept of smart cities, citizens must take some of the responsibility,” he said. “Travel demand management needs to enter the discussion.
“To really get maximum value from our road network, we as citizens need to manage the demand on our resources. The solution to congestion needs a change in mindset and a willingness to compromise and contribute, share resources and be open to alternatives.” SANRAL remains committed to ongoing
SANRAL Western Region Manager
engagement and collaboration with the provincial and local governments to ensure that the infrastructure it rolls out enables citizens to access economic opportunities in our cities.
Saice experiment teaches young scientists how to distribute water
Framesby High School in Port Elizabeth was crowned the winner of the South African Institution of Civil Engineering (Saice) Algoa Branch Aqualibrium Water competition, earlier this year. SANRAL and Labco supported the event.
Learners Donovan Jerling, Juandre Gilbert and Philip du Plessis will compete in the Saice 14th annual Schools Water Competition in July in Johannesburg. Saice hosted the one-day competition at SANRAL’s offices on 25 March to afford learners the opportunity of planning, designing, constructing and operating a water-distribution network, during which they encountered similar challenges as those in managing the actual water-distribution network of a town.
Saice Algoa branch chairman Pieter Joubert said: “This competition demonstrates the importance of managing water distribution systems, which are important to supply safe and clean drinking water to people. It also exposes the learners to the field of civil engineering and provides a glimpse into why civil engineers play a critical role in our infrastructure management.”
The participating schools included Framesby High School, Alexander Road High, Loyiso Senior Secondary, Mfesane Senior Secondary School, Newton Technical High School, Pearson High School (all from Port Elizabeth) and Brandwag High School from Uitenhage.
SANRAL Southern Region’s Marketing and Communications Manager, Michelle Ah Shene, said participating in Saice events is an extension of SANRAL’s commitment to the development of civil engineering as a field of study.
Ah Shene said the national roads agency promotes the importance of the profession by supporting projects like the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University
Learners Donovan Jerling, Juandre Gilbert and Philip du Plessis will compete in the Saice
14th annual Schools Water Competition.(NMMU) School of Engineering STEM Pipeline Project, bursaries and scholarships and training civil engineering graduates in its Southern Region Training Academy.
The competing teams were tasked with designing a model water distribution network to distribute 3l of water equally between three points on the grid using two different diameter pipes and various connection pieces. They were then judged on how well they executed the task – working on a penalty points system.
The teams had approximately one hour in which to plan, design, build and operate their network.
What started as a local engineering competition for learners has, over three years, become an international event,
with Swaziland and Zimbabwe also participating.
“This is an adventure that all learners remember once they’ve experienced the challenge first-hand,” Joubert said. “This competition exposes them to the processes that influence their daily lives and are often taken for granted, such as providing water supply to homes. They are made aware of the intricacies of water distribution design and the actual water delivery to households.”
The grid used for the water distribution network is on a background that depicts the water cycle, with all the impacts that affect this scarce resource. The grid intrigues learners and teachers, who find it a useful educational tool.
The competition creates awareness regarding the issues surrounding water
in South Africa. It spreads the message that water is a precious commodity, which should be recycled, re-used and respected. Through its annual competition, Saice takes responsibility for spreading the message that water should be used wisely, infrastructure should be maintained and new infrastructure should be developed to provide potable water to all South Africans.
Juandre Gilbert of Framesby High School said he enjoyed participating. “It was extremely fun to do the experiment. When we arrived here, we had no idea what to expect or what to do. We can go back to school and share what we’ve learned.”
Steyn Williams of Brandwag High School said: “This was quite a learning experience.”
Morgan Moss of Alexander Road High School, who was the only learner representing his school, won second place. “I was nervous because I wasn’t sure if they would let me participate – I was alone from my school and the competition entries call for a threemember team. Maths and science are my favourite subjects. I also enjoy doing experiments and building things.”
Brandwag High Grade 9-12 science teacher Peter Baxter said the children enjoyed the competition. “It was exciting and challenging for them. They looked forward to this experiment.”
Some learners from Brandwag High also participate in SANRAL and STEM PP projects.
Loyiso Senior Secondary’s Tarisai Seven, a Grade 8-9 science and technology teacher, said the school had two teams participate.
“Competitions like this one are very important to the minds of the learners. At school there are not many experiments, as resources at the school are few.”