Aziz Hartley, Cape Times
28 July 2010
Thousands of motorists can breathe easy following the
shifting of two toll plazas some distance from densely
populated areas in the metro.
The SA National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral) had initially
planned plazas on the N2 close to Khayelitsha and the N1
near Brackenfell with low and high toll fees of R10 and R14
in both areas. An agency spokesman has said the N1 plaza is
to be moved north of the Engen Winelands garage in the
Joostenberg area, while on the N2 the plaza would be close
to the R310 near Eerste River.
Transport and Public Works MEC Robin Carlisle, said he had
been vehemently opposed to the toll roads, particularly
those that affected disadvantaged communities such as
Mitchells Plain, Khayelitsha, Delft, Wallacedene and
Kraaifontein. Sanral had agreed not to have these plazas
where initially planned and would offer "big" tariff
discounts at plazas planned elsewhere in the metro, Carlisle
said. "I've opposed the toll roads very vigorously for some
years. My primary concern has been that toll roads travel
through two areas of very dense and poor populations. That
has been my most serious objection. I'm happy to say Sanral
looked at this and have shifted the toll plazas so that
tolling will commence almost exclusively outside of those
areas I've been concerned about," Carlisle said.
He said Sanral also agreed to ensure toll roads did not have
a negative impact on local economies in non-metro areas and
that, in places such as Grabouw and Elgin, road users would
be able to enter and exit the N2 without passing through
toll plazas. "They (Sanral) have put the toll plazas at fair
distances from each other. They've tried their best not to
interfere with those local economies. They have undertaken
to try and ensure very big discounts for people who use the
plazas," Carlisle said.
Sanral would also take over the management of weighbridges
on the N1 and N2, he said. Carlisle said the provincial
government would now reconsider its opposition to the toll
roads. "But we have to take that decision together with the
other affected parties - municipalities through whose areas
the toll roads run. Cabinet will be considering the toll
roads in about a month's time. I can't anticipate what the
decision will be, but I'd say we made considerable progress
in achieving a more acceptable situation," he said.
Sanral regional manager Kobus Van der Walt confirmed that
road users from areas such as Khayelitsha along the N2 and
Kraaifontein along the N1 would no longer be affected. Other
N1 plazas still in the pipeline are at Huguenot Tunnel and
De Doorns on the N1. On the N2, plazas will be situated at
the bottom of Sir Lowry's Pass near Strand and at Bot River.
Tariffs are expected to be R16 (low) and R23 (high). Van der
Walt said toll discounts would vary from 20 percent for
frequent users (20-39 trips a month) to 70 percent for local
users. Depending on the roads they used, local public
transport operators would get discounts of up to 50 percent.
He also confirmed that Sanral would manage weighbridges, but
said law enforcement officers would still be needed to deal
with offenders. "It has always been our policy to work with
the province and the city. We want a good relationship with
municipalities and to assist them where we can. Road users
are our customers and we do what we can to protect them,"
Van der Walt said in response to Carlisle's comment that
progress had been made. He said it would take about eight
months to appoint an operator after the September 20
deadline for tenders invited. "Roads will have to be
designed before the plazas are set up."
Minibus taxi groups said Sanral's decision to shift plazas
away from the Khayelitsha and Kraaifontein areas was good
news for the industry and its thousands of commuters. "We
and other motorists use those roads. For us, the money we
were going to pay would probably have come from commuters.
"I want to salute the provincial government for having
fought very hard," Western Cape Provincial Taxi Alliance
spokesperson Mvuyisi Mente said. Golden Arrow spokesperson
John Dammert, who also welcomed the news, said bus company
operated 4 671 trips a week on the routes. A toll of R52 per
trip per bus would have cost the company an extra R13 681
876 a year.
The company would have been unable to absorb such a cost and
would probably have passed it on to commuters, he said. SA
National Taxi Council provincial chairperson Vernon Billet
said: "We are very happy. It (toll plazas) would have
contributed to our operation costs." Mayco member for
transport Theresa Thompson said the change of plan was good
news as the council was opposed to toll plazas in the metro,
particularly in areas near disadvantaged communities.
Karishma Thakurdin
23rd July 2010, Engineering News
Civil engineering and construction group Basil Read CEO
Marius Heyns tells Engineering News that the construction
giant has played a key role in developing Gauteng’s freeways
through the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project (GFIP),
which has contributed to growing South Africa’s economy
through job creation and social spin-offs.
Basil Read was awarded the contract for phase one of the
GFIP by the South African National Roads Agency Limited
(Sanral), in conjunction with its joint venture partners,
Roadcrete Africa and Dip Civils, and Heyns indicates that
the projects are on track and some have reached completion
ahead of time. He says that the company has a variety of
road projects in the pipeline and has submitted tenders
worth millions of rands.
“Sanral has indicated the continuation of the N12 freeway
extension, which is worth about R800-million, and we are
still busy with work on the toll road between the N1 and N2
in Cape Town, which is worth about R5-billion,” he adds.
Sanral GFIP project leader Alex van Niekerk previously told
Engineering News that 80% of the first phase of road
upgrades had been completed, with 20 of the 34 interchange
upgrades completed.
This comprises an 80% completion of the road-widening works,
the construction of concrete median barriers and the
lighting of the roads. Heyns says: “A minimum of one lane
has been added to all carriageways and specific upgrades on
interchanges were done to reduce bottlenecks at interchanges
identified through research carried out before the roll-out
of the projects. “The project also aims to stimulate future
economic growth in the region and create jobs and ensure
empowerment and skills transfer for the local labour
targeted,” he adds. “A related spin-off will be the
potential of foreign investment in the region following the
2010 FIFA World Cup, which showcased the region and its
newly upgraded infrastructure.
Heyns explains that 95% of all the materials used has been
sourced locally – with the exception of steel fibre, which
is not locally available and was imported. He says that many
new technologies were adopted in the road upgrades and
certain methods would be a world first. Noise tests
highlighted the need for the construction of noise barriers,
which have been used on certain roads of the GFIP project.
For example, brick walls have been built on the N1 section
from the Atterbury interchange to the N4 interchange and are
up to 12 m high and aim to reduce noise for neighbouring
properties. For the N12 highway, Basil Read is proposing the
use of European systems that comprise either noise-absorbing
wood-chipped concrete panelling or recycled foam plastic.
These systems have been successfully implemented in England,
Germany and Belgium. Temporary barrier systems were adopted
throughout the GFIP projects and conform to European impact
standards to ensure that both the road user and the
construction worker are protected during the upgrades. The
noise-reducing asphalt overlay has been employed by Sanral
on all sections – this is an ultrathin friction course,
which is an 18-mm coarsely graded surfacing that reduces
road noise as well as limits ‘spray-up’ from vehicles during
rainy conditions. Heyns explains that some of the benefits
of implementing new technology are long-term durability and
reduced maintenance, which mean fewer disruptions for road
users.
Meanwhile, more than 3 500 people have been employed on the
company’s four major GFIP road projects, over a period of
two years. Heyns says that these projects have contributed
significantly to skills development.“Developing skills in
local labour is critical to developing the country’s future
economy, as, when the projects are complete, labourers can
use their skills for future work opportunities,” he adds. A
requirement for the GFIP projects is that a minimum of 12%
of the contract value be allocated to small, medium-sized
and microenterprise (SMME) companies. This means that, of
the R 3,7-billion to be spent on Basil Read’s package, a
minimum of R440-million will be earmarked for SMMEs.
Irma Venter
Creamer Media
23 July 2010
The South African National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral)
expects to announce the winning bidder for the N1/N2
Winelands toll project, in the Western Cape, in April next
year, says Sanral Western Cape regional manager Kobus van
der Walt.
Tenders for the project close in September. The project
stretches around 105 km from the R300 to Sandhills on the
N1, and 70 km on the N2 from the Swartklip interchange to
the Bot river.
“The road already exists, so this is a contract for a
concessionaire to take over the road, upgrade it, and then
operate it as a toll road.” Work on the project includes the
construction of additional ?lanes, 13 km of new road at
Somerset West, and the upgrading of the interchanges.
Also, the Huguenot tunnel will receive a second bore. This
will allow for two lanes of traffic in each direction, with
each tunnel carrying traffic in one direction only.
Loni Prinsloo
Engineering News
12th July 2010
The South African National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral)
said on Monday that construction on the Gauteng Freeway
Improvement Project (GFIP) would restart this week, after it
was suspended for the duration of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
Sanral said that even though the GFIP was not a World Cup
project, certain milestones were set to allow for freer
flowing traffic and roads were made available during the
event to increase the capacity of the network.
However, the agency noted that in certain areas work, such
as adding the final top layer of the road, carrying out
quality tests and applying final road markings, still needed
to be completed. "Thus, certain lanes that were made
available during the World Cup might need to be closed again
to allow for the construction works to be finalised."
It was anticipated that the bulk of the construction works
on the first phase of the GFIP would be completed by the end
of the year. The 185 km first-phase includes the widening of
freeways through the addition of new lanes, while also
upgrading interchanges.
Sanral will implement a tolling system on the new and
improved freeways, which will start in April.
Reuters, 8/7/2010
South Africa's roads agency raised 543 million rand in a
bond auction to help raise funds for the expansion and
upgrade of toll roads, joint lead arrangers Absa Capital and
Rand Merchant Bank said on Wednesday.
The auction of the government-guaranteed bonds means the
agency has now raised 18.2 billion rand worth of bonds for
the programme.
Construction on the roads will resume on July 12 and is
expected to be completed in October.