A new application has been launched by Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA) to revive the Metro Boulevard road development.
An Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) will be done to seek environmental authorisation to build a 14km dual carriageway that would meander through what is currently fields and greenbelts stretching from Muldersdrift to Weltevreden Park.
The proposed road construction is part of the Joburg 2040 Growth and Development Strategy. This policy plan has four main outcomes, the foremost being the improved quality of life for all Johannesburg residents. Additionally, Joburg 2040 strives for a liveable and sustainable urban environment underpinned by smart infrastructure, an inclusive employment hub that harnesses the potential of citizens, and an efficient and effective metropolitan government.
A draft scoping report available for public comment states planning for the road network is based on work done by the Transvaal Provincial Administration as early as the 70s. Initially named PWV10 after the Pretoria-Witwatersrand-Veereniging region, the road was envisioned as having six lanes but was downgraded to a municipal route in the early 90s and given the name Metro Boulevard.
“No site alternatives are proposed for this project as the proposed site location has been historically reserved for this route,” states the scoping report.
Metro Boulevard is proposed to run from the N14 to just before the N1 Western Bypass.
Based on the map available in the EIA proposal, the N14 turn-off for Metro Boulevard would begin just under two kilometres north of Cradlestone Mall. It would then head toward Hole in One Road where it would run just south of the nearby quarries before veering to the northern banks of the Ruimsig Stadium and would intersect Peter Road in the dip just after the Peter Road substation.
From there, Metro Boulevard would run east through the green belt and over Magnum Road, and into the thin strip of field that is currently marked by the residential developments at the bottom of Glock Road. Dissecting the numerous residential developments along the way, it will follow that thin field from Nic Diederichs Road, over Melba and Krediet Avenues, between Sovereign Road and Fiddle Avenue before meeting Christiaan de Wet Road.
The final stretch of Metro Boulevard would run past the Christiaan de Wet Road substation, squeezing through the fields to Jim Fouche Road, to the back of Town Square, behind Hillfox, across JG Strydom, and eventually ending just short of the N1 highway. Standing on the ground one might not see the land necessary but the bird’s eye view via satellite mapping shows a clear path for the proposed road.
Gauging the needs and desirability of the Metro Boulevard project
The full project would entail a 14km, 40m wide road reserve for a four-lane dual carriageway divided into two seven-metre wide strips with a centre median just under five meters wide. The two-and-a-half metre shoulder would come with a four-metre shared pedestrian and cycle pathway on both sides of the road. Along the proposed arterial there will be three grade-separated interchanges, 10 signalised intersections and one bridge.
Motivations for the project are listed in the document which can be viewed at the Weltvreden Park Library on Fern Road and the Roodepoort Library on Berlandina Street.
The document lists the needs and desirability of the project stating the road is necessary to aid development, strengthen the economy, and create additional economic opportunities. Alleviating the traffic on Hendrik Potgieter Road and Beyers Naude Drive are other driving factors.
The project forms part of a greater national framework and the draft scoping report claims Metro Boulevard would not compromise existing environmental management priorities. The EIA will determine if the areas concerned have the infrastructural capacity, whether a road is the best use of the existing land, and whether it will have an impact on sensitive natural and cultural heritage as well as health impacts and socio-economic opportunities.
JRA has already completed the traffic impact assessment and a national budget has been set aside to fund the project. That said, the project is still unlikely to materialise before the end of the decade but JRA Operations Manager Andre Nel estimated the entity was 70% complete with the necessary studies and documentation. Nel says JRA is getting everything in line for final approval which would be much later down the line.
The deadline for public participation in the Metro Boulevard project is June 26
The Metro Boulevard will extend into neighbouring Mogale City but will impact Wards 97 and 89 the most. Ward 97 councillor Jacques Hoon noted how the project had been on the table for 40 years, saying, “I do support the construction of the new road as it is always in the community’s best interest to develop and upgrade our wards infrastructure. I hope it happens in my lifetime.”
Ward 89 councillor Leah Knott has been fielding queries on the proposed road and has been doing her best to inform residents.
“I am going to insist on a public meeting to explain this to residents otherwise I will be formally objecting to this on that basis,” said Knott in an email to Envirolution Consulting, the environmental assessment practitioners tasked with the EIA.
This project has been in the pipeline for decades but the land in question will remain earmarked for transportation infrastructure. The EIA is mandated to examine alternatives such as locality and type of activity for the respective land.
The EIA must also consider design or layout alternatives as well as technological and operational alternatives. To have your say, email comments or suggestions to Envirolution Consulting’s Nomusah Mapheka at nomusah@envirolution.co.za before June 26.
