Private sector will fund R1bn upgrade of Durban - Joburg route

ROAD HAULIERS will applaud the decision to seek private sector funding and urgently upgrade the busy N-3 between Durban and Johannesburg. The multi-million rand project gets underway in 1999 and should lead to a reduction of traffic congestion, and in particular heavy duty traffic, along some of the country's busiest road systems.
The project involves major construction along several sections of the highway, and includes the notorious Villiers-Warden-Heidelberg section which, although already a toll road, is still single carriageway and the scene of many accidents. Another section that will receive attention is Van Reenen's Pass, where sections are to be widened.
The contract will cost in excess of R1 billion. The present N-3 carries the country's largest volume of container traffic, with an estimated 60% of Gauteng's imports and exports travelling to the Durban port along that route.