Gauteng MEC for Roads and Transport, Ismail Vadi, officially opened the newly constructed Cedar Road on 2 June.
The R88.5 million project transformed the previously narrow and congested road into a dual carriageway with improved lighting and traffic control measures, pedestrian walkways and well-developed intersections.
Vadi acknowledged the contribution of the private sector in the development of the road saying that the project was jointly funded by the Gauteng Department of Roads and Transport and Steyn City property developers.
“This public-private partnership has led to significant improvements in the road network in the area and has contributed to ease of mobility and economic development,” said Vadi.
Read: Cedar Road upgrades commence
He hoped that the unattractive tracts of land next to Cedar Road would now be ready for development, emphasising that the construction of a road often served as a catalyst for economic development.
Vadi thanked Steyn City developers for their financial contributions to the extensive improvements of the provincial road network along both Cedar Road and William Nicol Drive.
Cedar Road forms part of the provincial road network and acts as an inter-urban collector of road traffic from the surrounding communities. It has a mix of light traffic as well as significant heavy vehicle traffic, primarily related to the transportation of building materials from northern Johannesburg.
Read: Transport MEC to officially open the rehabilitated Cedar Road
Vadi also applauded the contractors and workers for completing the project within budget and on time.
A total of 109 jobs were created by the project with many of the local workers employed receiving extensive training courses in different aspects of road construction work. Seven diploma students were enrolled on the experiential training programme with a site rotation programme and 10 students with N6 (engineering) qualifications were employed on site to take part in a NQF 3 ( National Qualifications Framework) course that ran over six months.
Vadi further announced that phase two of the Cedar Road construction project from Witkoppen Road to Valley Road would be launched in the current financial year.
