FEB/MAR '19 | ISSUE 24
At the heart of every productive economy lies strong infrastructure networks – especially road infrastructure, which provides access to a host of opportunities, including jobs, education and healthcare facilities.
Mpumalanga is one of the major tourist destinations in the country, and includes the Loskop Dam Nature Reserve, which is home to more than 70 species of wildlife, including three of the big five - buffalo, leopard and white rhino.
and agricultural produce, which is transported daily via the provincial road network. This infrastructure is essential for the development of the local economy.
SANRAL is a key agency in the delivery of the country's massive investment in economic infrastructure.
The agency is investing approximately R10bn in the short- to medium-term budgeting framework (five to 10 years) in the province.
SANRAL's Northern Region Manager, Progress Hlahla, said: "Roads are crucial for the provincial economy, as they are the arteries connecting the economic hubs of the province to each other and to the rest of the country.
Roads provide access and enable the wheels of commerce to keep turning by facilitating the transportation of goods from one destination to another."
The N11 Hendrina to Hendrina Power station, worth R275m, is currently under construction in Mpumalanga.
This project rehabilitates the road by strengthening the existing pavement and introduces new features to make it safer for motorists.
The upgrade of the R573 Moloto Road, which runs through three provinces, Gauteng, Mpumalanga and Limpopo, has also started. National Treasury has set aside about R3bn for the Mpumalanga and Limpopo sections.
The allocation will be determined by the scope of work and the engineering interventions required for each province.
The Gauteng section will be funded by Gauteng's provincial government. There was also the improvement of the R570 – N4 to Jeppes Reef, worth R984m, to rehabilitate existing pavement layers,upgrade stormwater drainage and construct new climbing lanes to cater for the increasing traffic, and the rehabilitation of the N11 Middleburg to Loskopdam to the value of R404m.
Both projects have been completed.
The success of these projects can be attributed to the existing good relationships and healthy partnership with the provincial government.
"SANRAL enjoys cordial relationships with the province and municipalities and continues to engage with them actively,
through platforms such as the Taking SANRAL to the people initiative. We continue to partner with the local and provincial spheres of government in the implementation of our projects," said Hlahla.
Also planned for the province:
SANRAL looks forward to partnering with all stakeholders in the delivery of projects and continues to pursue its transformation agenda to ensure the meaningful participation of SMMEs.
The upgrade of 35km of the N2 between Mtunzini toll plaza and Empangeni interchange on the KwaZulu-Natal North Coast, which started three years ago, is anticipated to be completed at the end of June 2019.
SANRAL is constructing a new north-bound carriageway, with the existing road to become the future south-bound carriageway.
Corné Roux, Project Manager at SANRAL Eastern Region, said that within weeks, the north-bound traffic will be diverted onto the newly constructed carriageway just after the Mtunzini toll plaza and diverted back to the existing carriageway just before the eSikhawini interchange.
This will allow the start of the repair of the existing road (the future south-bound carriageway) adjacent to the newly constructed section.
“Work is progressing well, despite the challenges posed by the 60m-deep piles and difficult piling conditions at the Mhlathuze and Umlalazi river bridges, along with the high rainfall in this part of Zululand,” said Roux.
The engineers on the project, UWP Consulting, have indicated that the structures are largely complete, with only the deck of the Empangeni road-over-rail bridge still to be cast. The bulk earthworks and layers have progressed according to plan and outstanding work is concentrated around the Empangeni interchange.
The R946m project is one of the biggest road infrastructure developments being undertaken by SANRAL in KZN and is aimed at coping with the increased traffic volumes on one of the country’s key arterial roads.
Current traffic volumes on the N2 south of Empangeni exceed 12 000 vehicles per day, with the highest traffic volumes occurring on the section between the eSikhawini and Empangeni interchanges.
When this project is complete, four agricultural overpasses over the N2 would have been lengthened; new bridges would have been built at the R34 Empangeni/Richards Bay interchange and at the P537 Port Dunford underpass; two road-over-rail bridges would have been constructed and 16 major box culverts and numerous minor box culverts and other drainage structures would also have been built. In addition, the height of two overpasses would have been increased by jacking up the bridges.
This stretch of the N2 is on a declared toll road and, therefore, the income generated from the toll plazas on the N2 North will be used for funding this project.
Since the start of the contract, 37 subcontractors have been employed by main contractor Concor Infrastructure, of which 23 have been SMMEs that have earned a combined amount of R76m. A maximum of 541 labourers have been employed at any one time, with 428 coming from within the local municipal target areas.
FEB/MAR '19 | ISSUE 24