Tolls will extend to every Gauteng freeway by 2009

ANNA COX
EVERY FREEWAY in Gauteng will be tolled by 2009, according to Nazir Alli, head of the SA National Roads Agency Limited (SANRAL). This is part of a broader scheme to improve mobility on the roads, he said. Over and above the tolling of the Gauteng network, seven new toll roads will be built within the next 10 to 15 years and many of the national roads will be upgraded with additional lanes and bridges. These include the controversial PWV 9 which runs parallel to the Ben Schoeman; the PWV 5 which will link the south to the East Rand; and the PWV 13 and 14 which will ensure easier access to Johannesburg International Airport. “Vehicles using the Ben Schoeman are increasing by 7% or 21 000 passenger trips a day each year. Peak hours start at 14:30 from Allandale. Car ownership in Johannesburg is set to rise by 35% to 1.2 million by 2010,” he said. And none of this is new. “In 2000 we released our tolling strategy and we have adhered to it. All we have done is to fine-tune it and adjust it in places according to new needs and developments,” he said. With new cars soon coming in from China and India priced at R40 000 to
R70 000, the roads are likely to become even more congested. Alli stressed that the toll roads would not involve plazas of any kind. SANRAL will be using free-flow electronic tolling where motorists will not have to stop or slow down at all. A transponder will be affixed to a windscreen of the vehicle, which will be detected by readers placed on poles or street signs at on- and off-ramps. It will be possible to load the transponders with credit, which will be purchased from various outlets, similar to airtime. Bus and transport operators, freight vehicles and multi-occupant vehicles, with a minimum of four people, will receive discounts.