SANRAL’s effort to unlockPROSPERITY
SANRAL’s positive impact on the broader South African society through community development is becoming entrenched and more appreciated as its responsibilities for the management of the national and provincial road network continue to grow.
Deep in northern KwaZulu-Natal, communities are happy with the sidewalks, bus and taxi lay byes, retaining walls and access roads to schools that have been built by SANRAL.
Approximately 12km of concrete walkways have been built on both sides of a section of Route R22 between Manguzi town and the Mozambique border. The project started in November 2015 and was completed in June 2017, with expenditure of R14.42m.
Ridhwaan Mahomed, SANRAL Eastern Region Project Manager, said before work had commenced on the project, several vehicle and pedestrian accidents had been recorded in the area.
“Pedestrians, mostly young pupils on their way to and from school, would be seen walking within the motorised vehicle lanes.
“This was highly risky, especially because many of the pedestrians were young children. Thus, it was decided to construct safe and proper pedestrian traffic facilities,” he said.
Mahomed said the project area was largely rural, with limited opportunities for income for families to sustain themselves. This project was, therefore, a valuable source of opportunities.
There was job creation – R2.5m was paid in salaries towards local labour, of which R736 011 each was paid to youth and women. Four local subcontractors were employed and were paid a total of R1.3m.
Since there are a high number of unskilled individuals in rural areas, SANRAL ensured that people were trained, and a total of 60 skills-training certificates were issued with R277 241 having been invested in training.
Mahomed said: “Roads exist to connect communities, to open new horizons, to bring people to opportunities and opportunities to people.
“SANRAL has always strived to support the efforts by the government to push back the frontiers of poverty and improve the lives of South African citizens in general by promoting community development through all its projects.”
Thokozani Mbuyisa, owner of one of the SMMEs, Mgadla Trading, said he was grateful to SANRAL for the opportunity to work on the project.
New ramps open atMt Edgecombe Interchange
Five years after construction began on the Mt Edgecombe interchange in April 2013, traffic began using the new ramps and congestion on the roadway was finally eased.
At 4am on Monday 5 March 2018, the first ramp was opened to traffic. Motorists from Phoenix and Mt Edgecombe who were heading south towards Durban began using the 1km-long bridge, smiles of contentment on their faces.
Over the following weeks, further new ramps on the iconic Mt Edgecombe interchange, which connects Phoenix, Mt Edgecombe and uMhlanga with Durban and the North Coast of KwaZulu-Natal, were opened to traffic.
The interchange, which is one of the largest projects presently being undertaken by SANRAL in KwaZulu- Natal, is more than a masterpiece of award-winning architecture. It is a vital artery of the greater eThekwini metropolitan highway system for easing traffic and is also a significant business enabler.
Due to the expansion of the uMhlanga and La Lucia Ridge areas, the existing interchange had been operating at capacity, with vehicles backing up onto the M41 and the N2 in peak hours.
The construction has been jointly funded by SANRAL and KwaZulu-Natal department of transport and has been undertaken by the South African branch of Italian construction company CMC di Ravenna.
Two incrementally launched bridges are part of the interchange upgrade. One bridge, which is 948m long – the longest incrementally launched bridge in South Africa – joins the Mt Edgecombe side of the M41 with the N2 South. The other bridge is 440m long and joins the uMhlanga side of the M41 with the N2 North.
The 948m bridge has 23 piers and two abutments and was built from two ends – one portion launched on a curve and the other on a straight.
To provide for the safety of pedestrians, a pedestrian bridge has been constructed over the N2 and will connect to new footways.
In addition, lighting has been installed to ensure the whole interchange is lit at night for increased safety.
Mt Edgecombe interchange at the intersection of the M41 and N2
R1bn
April 2013
April 2018
21
R55m