Picture: Twitter.
The South African National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral) and the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Provincial Road Maintenance Grant have pooled together resources to repair roads, bridges and railways that were destroyed in the devastating floods last month.
Since the declaration of the state of disaster Sanral and Prasa have been calculating the cost of the disaster in their respective spaces.
KZN had initially requested assistance to the tune of R5.1 billion for infrastructure repair.
Sanral has now allocated R3.1 billion to infrastructure repair projects with KZN reprioritising its budget to reroute R2.6 billion to make up the balance.
“The recent floods in KwaZulu-Natal left in its wake devastation that left many families destitute and critical transport infrastructure in a bad state of repair.
“We have moved with speed to respond to the devastation that has cut off communities from centres of economic activity and social amenities,” said Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula.
Among some of the key undertakings is the assessment, repairing and rebuilding of damaged transport infrastructure in the province.
Mbalula warned that repairs would not translate to immediate re-opening of roads or railway lines because the level of damage requires construction and rehabilitation that may take months to complete.
On 18 April 2022, upon declaring the national state of disaster, President Ramaphosa designated the Sanral as the lead agency to repair roads in the province, with an immediate focus on the N2 and N3 highways.
Part of the earlier relief measures included suspending toll fees on the N2 Highway near Tongaat and Mvoti, as alternative roads collapsed in the flood damage.
Now a consolidated list of affected infrastructure that includes national, provincial and
municipal roads have been compiled and sent for further assessment.
Sanral will prioritise repairs where communities remain completely cut off because roads are impassable forcing diversion of traffic to substandard alternative routes or toll roads.
Similarly, the repair of the alternative roads, while these interim measures are in place, will be prioritised and accelerated.
Repair and rehabilitation work on the N2 and N3 is already underway at a total cost of R542.5 million. This
work will be funded from the Sanral budget.
• Mhlali River Bridge (Northbound) – The design and construction drawings to repair damages to the bridge have been finalised. Repair work is anticipated to take 3 months from the date of the award of the contract.
• Ramp M45 Queen Nandi to N2 South over Umhlangane River – The design and construction drawings have been finalised. Repair work is estimated to be complete in a month from the date of the award of the contract.
• Louis Botha Overpass – The design and construction drawings have been finalised. Repair work is estimated to be completed in two months from the date of the award of the contract.
• Umhlanga River Bridge – The design and construction drawings have been finalised. Repairs are estimated to be completed one month from the date of the award of the contract.
• Armco Culvert on N3 Southbound ramp at Peacevale Interchange – Design and scoping to address pavement failure and severe erosion of the road fill above the Peacevale Armco culvert have been finalised. Repair work is anticipated to be completed in six months from the date of the award of
the contract.
• Embankment failure on N2 Northbound carriageway – Initial assessment and scoping of the works by Sanral to address the complete embankment failure, resulting in northbound carriageway slow lane and shoulder settlement over one metre have been completed. The repair process will be completed eight months from the date of the award of the contract.
• Embankment failure on N2 Southbound carriageway – Design and construction drawings to
repair embankment failure resulting in cracking and settlement on the Southbound carriageway shoulder,
affecting the slow and fast lanes have been finalised. The repair work will be completed in 10 months from the date of the award of the contract.
• M4 Slip No. 1 – Repair work to the embankment wash away with the failure of the roadway, which includes the shoulder and half a lane width will take six weeks to complete once a contract has been awarded for this work.
• M4 Mdloti River Bridge No. 1187 – Repair and rehabilitation work to the embankment wash away,
which undermines the pavement structure behind the abutment, leading to part failure of the roadway will take 2 months complete once the contract has been awarded.
• M4 Slip No. 2 – Repairs to the embankment wash away with the potential to undermine the roadway will take 1 week to complete once the contract has been awarded.
• M4 Tongati River Bridge No. 1237 – Repairs to the severe settlement of one pier resulting in the settlement of two bridge spans. The roadway above will take 12 months to complete once the
the contract has been awarded.
• M4 Slip No. 3 – Repairs to embankment wash away with roadway cracks indicating signs of possible failure of the pavement will take 3 months to complete once the contract has been awarded.
• R102 Culvert No. STC 2516 – Repairs and rehabilitation of the failed structure which comprised a
single-span bridge, resulting in closure of the road and will take 6 months to complete once the contract has been awarded.
• R102 Slip at Mhlali River Bridge No. 2556 – Repairs to the washed away road embankment in the vicinity of the Mhlali River Bridge, with resultant failure of the pavement shoulder and a portion of one lane will take one month to complete once the contract has been awarded.
• R102 Tete River Bridge No. 2073 – Repairs to the embankment wash away which led to the failure of the
roadway will take six weeks to complete once the contract has been awarded.
• R102 Culvert No. STC 2538 – Repairs to the embankment wash away, with the roadway showing
signs of imminent failure will take 2 months to complete once the contract has been awarded.
• R102/M4 – Based on the latest estimates for repair times affecting R102/M4, the estimated period is 12 to 16 months in respect of Tongaat and 6 to 10 months in respect of Mvoti.
The Prasa rail network in KZN was not spared the devastation of the floods. The disaster compounded an already challenged rail network that had been hit hard by theft and vandalism of rail infrastructure.
Service recovery for the commuter rail is expected to take place in phases due to the severity of the impact of the floods on the rail network.
The first phase will focus on restoring safe train movement in areas where damage was limited.
“We anticipate achieving recovery in the north between 1 to 3 months, particularly in areas where the damage is not as severe,” said Mbalula.
Emergency procurement processes have been activated to introduce a diesel service by the end of May 2022 in the following corridors:
• Durban to KwaMashu
• Durban to Stanger
• Durban to Pinetown
The second phase of the recovery will focus on recovering damaged and destroyed infrastructure, which will take between 3 to 6 months from the date of the award of the contract in the following corridors:
• Durban to KwaMashu
• Durban to Umlazi
• New Main Line to Cato Ridge
• Reunion to Kelso, which will be confirmed once structural and geotechnical engineering consultants have been appointed for Illovo Bridge.
“The Umlazi line remains a challenge due to the major encroachment of houses into the rail reserve, rendering the sites inaccessible. We will address this challenge with various stakeholders including the affected communities,” promised Mbulula.
Meanwhile, Home Affairs Deputy Minister Njabulo Nzuza also handed out new identity documents (IDs) to residents who lost their personal documents in the devastating floods.
The department is reissuing death/ birth certificates and IDs free of charge to affected residents.
NOW READ: KZN floods damage could cost billions
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