Relief for coal road
The N11 between Hendrina and Middelburg is an important route for coal haulage and transportation of agricultural produce in Mpumalanga. On average, the traffic volume on this particular section ranges from 2 500 to 3 000 vehicles in one direction per day, of which most are heavy and abnormal-load vehicles.
With such a high level of activity, damage to the quality of the road is inevitable.
In 2016, SANRAL started the rehabilitation of the road as part of the planned programme to improve the entire N11 route, from Ladysmith in the south to the Botswana border in the north.
The main aim of the project is to strengthen the
existing pavement, which is past its structural design
life and generally in a poor condition, and introduce
new features to make it safer for motorists.
The scope of work for the contract includes widening
of the roadway to provide 3m-wide surfaced shoulders
over the 18.56km, which according resident engineer
for LEO Consulting Peter Ng’anjo, will make it much
safer considering the high volume of traffic.
• Replace the existing large box culvert with a new single-span road-over-river bridge at Bosman Spruit
• Widening and rehabilitation of existing singlespan, road-over-road Optimum Mine haul road underpass bridge
• Construction of a new medium-diameter roundabout intersection at the northern entrance to Hendrina
• Safety and capacity improvement of the T-junction with the access road to Pullenshoop
• Minor drainage works and auxiliary road works
The project is already halfway done and should be completed early next year, as scheduled.
The R570 provides a gateway to a royal kingdom, linking the town of Malelane on the N4 to Swaziland at the Jeppe’s Reef border post. The road also provides access to one of Africa’s largest game reserves, the Kruger National Park.
Because of the critical role it plays in cross-border transport and freight, the road was earmarked in 2009 for improvement by SANRAL.
Part of the improvement was to rehabilitate existing pavement layers, upgrade stormwater drainage and construct new climbing lanes, which according to resident engineer Japie Knoetze, will cater for the increasing traffic.
“The addition of the climbing lanes was to improve safety. Previously it was difficult to overtake with the single lanes. Now it’s much better and safer,” said Knoetze.
The contract was awarded to the Cape Town-based construction company TRIAMIC and includes the construction of 29 bus stops (including shelters) and six pedestrian crossings near selected schools in Malelane.
As part of the upgrade, SANRAL obtained approval from the Department of Environmental Affairs for removal of a number of stately old Marula and other indigenous trees, which were in the way of the construction. A local NGO was employed to do the work and planted about 250 new trees to replace the ones that were removed.
SANRAL understands the importance of roads in unlocking the economic potential of the continent and the newly improved R570 will be a major boost to the province.
R570 Malelane-Swaziland
R684m
12 January 2015
17 January 2018
218
(inclusive of women and youth)
42
R123m