A R600 million project between Makana (formerly Grahamstown) and the Fish River Pass in the Eastern Cape, initiated by the South African National Roads Agency SOC Limited (SANRAL), will provide much-needed job opportunities for communities in the area.
Speaking at a two-day information session that SANRAL convened in Ngqushwa and Makana respectively, Sipho Mahlangu, SANRAL’s consulting engineer on the project, said the project will entail upgrading the existing single carriageway to new geometric standards at the various intersections, constructing and extending underpasses to accommodate the new alignment on the road.
“Through this project, we will surface the road and do road markings on the Pikoli Bypass. The Pikoli Bypass was constructed in the previous construction phase of the project, and it will be used in this phase as a deviation route for road users. The bypass still requires additional sealing to be done as well as road markings. These will be done during this phase of construction.
“Additional work on the project includes formalising the T-Junction intersection provided for trucks that turn off to Fraser’s camp farm stall. We will also do additional maintenance work of adjacent portions to the N2, as well as extending the climbing lane. Community access roads just off the N2 national road will also be constructed in the local areas of Lewiswood, Mabofolweni and Nobumba, creating further job opportunities for those who live in these areas,” said Mahlangu.
The main contractor on the project is yet to be appointed. Welekazi Ndika, SANRAL’s stakeholder coordinator for the southern region, said while the entire upgrade of the road is envisaged to take place over 30 months, SANRAL has allocated the first three months at the start of the project to a mobilisation period.
“This is a period in which the appointed contractor will interact with the community and set up Contract Participation Goals (CPG), which is the amount that will be allocated to the development of Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs). These matters will be discussed within the first three months together with the Project Liaison Committee (PLC),” said Ndika.
PLCs are established to ensure better communication and transparency on SANRAL projects, as well as ensuring that work done on projects is done seamlessly.
Presenting SANRAL’s 14 Point Plan – SANRAL’s guiding tool to improve transparency and openness – Ndika said one of the ways in which this better communication and transparency is realised will be by appointing a Project Liaison Officer on the project.
“This role will be advertised locally. A Project Liaison Officer is an important role because this person is a point of contact between the Project Management Team (PMT) and municipality as well as the communities when projects are started. One of the things that this person will do will be to set up databases of local people that will be employed on these projects. We encourage community members to apply,” said Ndika.
Other key projects that SANRAL has started in the area include routine road maintenance on Section 12 of the N2 and Section 13 of the National Route R67, as well as routine road maintenance of the National Route R72 Section between Nanaga and Keiskamma River.
Valued at R52m, the N2 and R67 project is envisaged to take over 40 months, and 24 months have already been completed. A contractor has not yet been appointed on the R60m National Route R72 project, which is envisaged to take more than 30 months.
