Gauteng to see first new highway to be built in 40 years

The Gauteng roads and transport department plans to build the first new highway in Gauteng in 40 years, reports the Kempton Express.

The 35km long PWV15 road will support the proposed development of an aerotropolis at OR Tambo International Airport and the Tambo-Springs freight and logistics hub.

Gauteng roads and transport MEC Ismail Vadi in a statement released this week said the department had been allocated R6.8 billion and the bulk of the allocation would go towards transport infrastructure (R1.9 billion); transport operations (R2.3 billion); transport regulation (R314 million); Gautrain (R1.8 billion) and administration (R321 million).

The department plans to improve road infrastructure through the construction of new roads and improving maintenance of existing roads. This will include the construction of the first new freeway in 40 years, the PWV15, to reduce congestion and support the aerotropolis development in Ekurhuleni.

“We will improve systems to ensure the speedy repair of potholes and the resurfacing of the road network. We will mobilise resources for road infrastructure in ways that will avoid the controversy linked to the e-tolls. There will be no e-tolls on our newly constructed freeways,” MEC Vadi said.

The department recently completed 12 major road rehabilitation projects such as the N12, the R82 from Eikenhof to Walkerville and the N14. Work on the remaining section of the N14 is currently under way.

About the PWV15

Apart from alleviating traffic congestion on the existing road network, it would accelerate the development of the aerotropolis and the Tambo-Springs logistics hub, and enhance the adjacent land value along the route for housing, industrial and commercial development.

It would serve as a catalyst to modernise the road network in the Eastern corridor, unlock economic opportunities through the revitalisation of the manufacturing sector in Ekurhuleni as well as allow for the free flow of freight traffic from the N3 to the N1 freeways.

Furthermore, the department says it will relieve traffic pressure at the Gillooly’s Interchange, which has been upgraded by the South African National Roads Agency Limited through the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project.

– Caxton News Service