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Drawing of the Nancefield Interchange. Source: SANRAL.

Musina ring road is on track for completion

 

The South African National Roads Agency Limited (SANRAL) announced this week that one year after construction started on the Musina Ring Road in Limpopo, the project is scheduled to be completed within the next 18 months, provided that climatic conditions prevail.

The R625 million project by SANRAL will divert traffic from the Beit Bridge border around the Musina CBD. This will result in major improvements in road safety and less damage to vital infrastructure within the border town.

“Trucks travelling to and from Beit Bridge are causing major damage to the road infrastructure in town. Traffic is heavily congested as the heavy-duty vehicles have to share the narrow roads with other road users and pedestrians,” said resident engineer Ben Botes.

Heavy traffic passing through Musina also poses dangers to pedestrians and many local businesses have raised concerns about access to their premises. “The ring road will ease congestion and reduce the dust blown up by traffic, which creates health problems among residents, and it will also save travel time for the road users and reduce vehicle operating costs,” said Botes.

According to SANRAL, the project is benefitting the region through job creation and business opportunities, especially for residents. The project includes the building of nine big structures, five bridges and four in-situ culverts, and local subcontractors are involved in the construction of these structures. “We are busy constructing the nine structures required for the road construction, the bridges and the culverts at an investment of R114 million. We have employed 12 skilled labourers, as well as 23 local general workers, and as the project progresses we will start hiring more people,” said Owen Simba, site manager at Makali Construction.

SANRAL stated that they were committed to creating equitable access for small contractors, particularly black-owned enterprises, through its procurement processes. “It feels great to work again and now I am able to look after my family and put food on the table. I am saving some money to get a certificate in the construction field when the project is complete,” said Baldwin Luvhengo, a previously unemployed general worker who is now benefitting from the project.

The 8km project runs through the Nancefield community, which necessitated the relocation of 30 households. SANRAL sent a consultant to each household to negotiate the relocations. “It was agreed that they would receive the same size structure they had in Nancefield. The community is happy with this arrangement and are looking forward to the move,” said Petrus Mbedzi, the project liaison officer.

Botes said the project also consisted of a barrier wall that would minimise noise levels for the households living next to the road. “I am confident that road users and the residents will soon start to enjoy the benefits of the newly constructed Musina Ring Road,” said Botes.

News - Date: 13 March 2017

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An artist’s impression of the Nancefield Bridge. Source: SANRAL.

 

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Andries van Zyl

Andries joined the Zoutpansberger and Limpopo Mirror in April 1993 as a darkroom assistant. Within a couple of months he moved over to the production side of the newspaper and eventually doubled as a reporter. In 1995 he left the newspaper group and travelled overseas for a couple of months. In 1996, Andries rejoined the Zoutpansberger as a reporter. In August 2002, he was appointed as News Editor of the Zoutpansberger, a position he holds until today.

Email: [email protected]

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