Full-on tummy tuck for Huguenot Tunnel

If you’ve travelled down the N1 highway in Cape Town, through the Du Toitskloof Mountains on your way between Paarl and Worcester, then you’ve doubtless marvelled as you cut through the mountain range courtesy of the longest tunnel in South Africa. For 3.9km the single-lane dual-carriageway Huguenot Tunnel provides the main transportation link between the coastal plains of the Western Cape and the interior of South Africa.
But, with around 13 000 cars thundering through the tunnel each day, and with SANRAL recognising the importance of maintaining strict safety measures, it’s time for an overhaul.
Fortunately, the builders of this modern engineering marvel sowed the seeds for a bigger and bolder Huguenot Tunnel back in 1973 when geological surveys and the design of the project officially got underway. While motorists are familiar with the so-called ‘south bore’ tunnel, the construction team actually excavated two tunnels, and it is the ‘north bore’ tunnel that will soon be coming online to create a twotunnel marvel with two lanes of traffic running in each direction. While the north bore was excavated at the same time as the south bore, it never became operational and lacks, inter alia, operational portals and approaches, the road, the ventilation and lighting.
But, as Nigerian infopreneur and author Ifeanyi Enoch Onuoha once put it: “To fulfil your vision, you must have hindsight, insight and foresight”. As luck would have it, there was foresight and the planning included a larger, even more impressive tunnel. Now plans are afoot to modify the operational south bore and complete the north bore tunnel, thereby doubling traffic capacity.
This is a long-term project and for motorists this means a few years of upheaval while it is completed. The south bore’s ventilation capacity and extraction capacity in the event of a fire will be improved, and its fire-fighting and electrical and mechanical systems will be overhauled, necessitating closing the tunnel for periods. Exact days and times will be announced closer to the actual beginning of the work.
The plan is to only partially close the south bore for refurbishment, mostly from 10pm to 6am, Monday to Thursday. The tunnel will remain fully operational and open for use from Friday to Sunday.
During the ventilation upgrade, however, the tunnel will be completely closed for at least five days in both directions. These dates are yet to be confirmed and will be widely publicised as soon as there is certainty. While road users will be impacted in the short term, particularly, on the south bore project, the improvements and essential maintenance are vital to ensure the Huguenot Tunnel remains an effective, safe and efficient infrastructure resource for years to come.
By injecting R134.9 million into the south bore upgrade and with the north bore construction estimated at a value of R2.25 billion, SANRAL’s transformation of this grand old lady into a modern engineering feat will keep the Huguenot Tunnel servicing the Boland and beyond for generations to come