Resurfacing of R578 will make local travel easier

SANRAL has awarded two projects for the resurfacing of the R578 from the N1 outside Louis Trichardt to Elim (16km) and from Mahodlogwa (35,8km) to Nwamatatani (56km) in the Limpopo Province.

The high-level scope of this project includes traffic accommodation, pre-treatment of the existing road, drains, edge-break repairs and edge beams, base and surface patches, bridge joints, seal construction, road marking, re-gravelling shoulders, rut filling, slurry texture treatment, constructing edge beams at property entrances, intersections and taxi bays, cleaning hydraulic structures and culverts, replacing bridge joints where required, applying temporary and permanent road markings, installing permanent road studs, repairing, renewing or installing new guardrails and finishing off the road reserve.

“This project provides work and will stimulate job creation during construction as the labour target is 6% and 30% for targeted enterprises. The project will increase business activities from tourism and lead to jobs even after the project has been completed. It will reduce the travel time between Makhado, Giyani and Kruger National Park, and the maintenance work will cause fewer delays. This project aims to improve surface drainage by removing ruts and making the road safer, eliminating the potential of aquaplaning,” says SANRAL in a press release.

The tender amount for project R.578-010-2019/4 is R54 million. The contractor is Roadmac Surfacing (Pty) Ltd, and the consultant is Urbanstrut Consulting Engineers. The tender amount for project R.578-010-2019/6 is R62 million, and the Contractor is Imvula Roads & Civils. The appointed Consultant is Urbanstrut Consulting Engineers. The project manager for both projects is Lethu Dlanjwa, who can be contacted on 012 426 6200 or [email protected]

SANRAL’s Northern Region Manager, Mr Progress Hlahla, indicated that this project would improve the current pavement and benefit travellers by improving travel time and riding quality. He noted that the project would benefit local SMMEs and positively impact the local economy.

The start and completion date of the projects is not known.

Date:19 June 2021

By: 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.

Read: 1230