CT road 'decongestant' too costly

It will cost the City of Cape Town and the Western Cape province more than R5 million to add a turning lane on the Koeberg intersection on the M5 in Maitland where truck congestion into the nearby container depot is causing havoc. Industry asked city officials in 2014 to look into the matter in light of increased congestion that is affecting not only the movement of trucks in and out of the depot but traffic in general. “There is agreement that by adding a turning lane at the intersection the problem will be solved,” said an industry source that has been close to the project. “The city has looked into the matter and agrees that this is the best solution, but has said practically this will require the appropriation of land from the school situated on the corner of this intersection. We have also been told that there are underground electrical cables that would have to be moved and this adds significant cost to the project.” Whilst the City of Cape Town has not officially commented on the matter, it is believed that there is no current budget available for the project. “There has been a request from industry to fund the project,” said the source. “We are going to speak to various role-players and stakeholders in an effort to determine if – and how much – industry could possibly contribute to the project that will cost in the range of R5.6 million.”