On Tuesday (20th), officials of the South African National Roads Agency Limited (SANRAL) went on a tour to the Musina Ring Road and provided more detail about the R700 million project. The project, which is expected to ease traffic congestion, was completed last month.
Although the Minister of Transport, Mr Fikile Mbalula, did the honours of opening the ring road about two weeks ago, SANRAL felt it should also point out the finer details and clarify some issues around the project.
According to Mr Hennie Kotze, SANRAL's project engineer, the life span of this road stretches to about 40 years, although the black surface we see is expected to last for about 10 to 12 years thereof.
"In seven years' time from now, we will monitor the surfacing and put on a new surface, but this all depends on the volume of traffic on the road. However, if more than the expected number of heavy vehicles use this road, the life span could be reduced by 10 years," said Kotze.
To keep the road in good shape, SANRAL has a routine road-maintenance contractor who will be maintaining the road.
The building of the ring road had some social impacts on Musina residents. Some residents were relocated to houses constructed by SANRAL and some protected tree species, such as the baobab, were transplanted and replanted. "We relocated 32 households to houses we had constructed. For a year we have monitored complaints on the houses. We also compensated for any loss the relocated residents incurred. If anything goes wrong on these SANRAL houses from here on, it is the responsibility of the owners of the houses to sort out," Kotze said.
"Part of the road cuts through the old Musina copper mine and the old Musina landfill site. SANRAL had to cut 18 metres deep through the old copper mine site to make a way for the road. To prevent rocks and sand from being washed away, hessian fabric had been used to cover the side of the road." In the long run, Kotze said, they will sow seed grass to grow, which will eventually cover the whole area.
The landfill was also moved a few metres back to make way for the new road.
On the walk-about excursion, Joseph Chuene was among the local residents who were seen working on the project. "I am a civil engineering graduate and am gaining valuable practical experience through this project," Chuene said. He had been involved on the project since last year.