K56 finds itself in the spotlight again

KYALAMI – The K56 is back in the spotlight as Glenferness residents reported interactions with people who they believe to be contractors in the area.

May 29, 2018

Robyn Kirk 2 minutes read

A local resident witnessed surveyors placing markers in the area of where the road will be constructed.

*Editor’s note: A previous version of this story stated that the K56 would create an east-west corridor between the R55 and Main Road. It, in fact, would create a corridor between the R511 and Main Road. We apologise for this error.

The planned K56 road is in the spotlight once again as residents in the Glenferness area have seen what appears to be surveying activity in the area.

The road, which would create an east-west corridor between the R511 (William Nicol Drive) and Main Road, has been in the works for more than two decades but has been fiercely contested by local residents, who are unhappy with the negative impact that it will have on both the ecosystem and the equestrian industry in the area.

“One Glenferness resident, who often walks around the area, saw a number of surveyors on one of her walks,” said Keith Bush, vice chairperson of the Glenferness Residents Association. “She asked [the workers] what they were doing, and they told her that they were marking out where the K56 will be built.”

The resident then took photographs of the markers and shared them with the association.

Residents are concerned about the effect the road will have on the area’s environment, as well as on the equestrian community.

Bush also told the Fourways Review that other residents had been approached by people who claimed to be subcontractors of WSP South Africa, the company appointed to oversee the construction and design of the road. These people provided letters to residents seeking access to their properties relating to the construction of the road.

“The letters claimed to be from the Gauteng Department of Roads and Transport, and were originally regarding the PWV15, a provincial road out by Kempton Park,” Bush explained. “However, the ‘PWV15’ part of the letter had been scribbled out and ‘K56’ had been written by hand instead.”

About five residents seem to have been approached, but none allowed the men onto their property.

Email queries to the department from both community members and the Fourways Review, about the status of the project and the validity of the subcontractor’s claims, had not been answered by the time of print.

The Fourways Review will continue to write about the K56 in coming editions.