Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula yesterday launched Transport Month with a commitment by government to upgrade and rehabilitate aging road infrastructure and commission new construction.
Speaking at the Mpumalanga Regional Stadium in Hammarsdale, Mbalula said government was hard at work ensuring that it provided a safer, affordable, accessible transport system across all modes of transport.
Moloto Road upgrades
He said the upgrade of the Moloto Road, which is notorious for fatal crashes, was on track.
“We listened to the pleas of local communities and road users, and have responded by transferring the totality of Moloto Road across the provinces of Gauteng, Mpumalanga and Limpopo to the South African National Roads Agency (Sanral),” he said, adding that R4.5 billion had been allocated for this project for five years.
The minister used the occasion to warn against corruption.
“The wheels of the law are grinding, however slowly, but they have arrived. We don’t want corruption here,” he said.
N2 upgrade
Mbalula said the R1billion N2 upgrade between Mtunzini Toll Plaza and Empangeni in KwaZulu-Natal now provided a dual carriage highway, enabling an easy flow of traffic.
“The multimillion rand upgrade of the 33km stretch on the N2 was a necessary intervention by government following years of fatal crashes,” he said.
The project created 510 full-time jobs at a cost of R76 million.
R512-PWV3 Pampoennek
Recently, government rolled out the newly completed R512-PWV3 Pampoennek, which has improved the link between the North West, from the west of Pretoria and Johannesburg.
Built at a cost of R377 million, the road stretches from the R512 to the west of Hartebeespoort Dam, through Pampoennek, connecting directly to the N4 to Rustenburg.
“It is no coincidence that we are here at Mpumalanga Stadium today. We chose this venue so we can also celebrate the Hammarsdale Interchange, recently completed by our roads agency, Sanral.”
Apart from improving travel into and out of Hammarsdale, the upgrade had seen an increase from two to five lanes, he said.
The minister noted that the R400-million investment had also encouraged and facilitated industrial expansion in the area, which had led to expanded economic activity.
The department is also set to upgrade the N2 and N3 in KwaZulu-Natal.
The revamp of the N2 will focus on a 55km stretch from Lovu River on the South Coast to Umdloti on the North Coast, while the N3 will look into an 80km section from Durban to Pietermaritzburg.
“These upgrades will include the widening of the N2 and N3 carriageways, with four or five lanes in each direction, and the reconfiguration of most major interchanges along these route sections,” said Mbalula.
The construction costs for these upgrades is estimated at around R10 billion for the N2 and R18.4 billion for the N3, and will take up to 10 years to complete.
SAnews.gov.za
