John Ross Parkway – all the facts

AS construction of the John Ross Parkway enters its final few months, Mr SS Nkosi, Senior General Manager: Transport Infrastructure & Regional services for the Department of Transport, explains the history and progress of the project

Richards Bay is South Africa’s premier bulk cargo port and the road linkages to Gauteng and the hinterland are strategically important for economic development and expanding the country’s economy.

Current traffic loading on the John Ross Parkway is more than 23 000 vehicles a day of which 3 085 are heavy vehicles.

The need for upgrading the road to a four-lane dual carriageway urban arterial was identified in the 80s but the expected high cost of construction delayed its implementation.

In 2000 a toll road became an attractive option but this was abandoned by national government after a groundswell of opposition from the regular users of the road.

Finally, the Provincial Cabinet gave the go-ahead in 2005.

Time frames

The project started in October 2005 and has progressed in stages with the pace dictated by the availability of funding. The planned completion dates are:

N2 to Richards Bay (13.5km) – 31 March 2014

Empangeni Rail to N2 (2.2km) – November 2014

Expenditure

The total project value is R1,1-billion and the amount spent as at the end of January 2014 is R1.026-billion.

This excludes R75-million contributed by BHP Billiton for a new interchange at the main access into the CBD.

Project scope

The original two-lane highway was constructed in the mid-seventies to facilitate the development of the harbour at Richards Bay.

The upgrading has involved the construction of a new two-lane eastbound carriageway on the northern side of the original road, with the original road becoming the westbound carriageway after rehabilitation and re-surfacing.

The total length of road construction is 15,7km. A 14km section of the new eastbound carriageway is complete and carrying traffic into Richards Bay.

A 1.2km long bridge spanning the Enseleni floodplain and Nsezi River was completed in December 2009 at a cost of R270-million and is now the longest bridge in the country.

The project also included constructing three bridges over railway lines and numerous box culverts across wetlands and rivers.

Six heavily-trafficked road intersections have been upgraded and street lighting has been extended.

The eastbound carriageway from Empangeni to Richards Bay will ultimately accommodate two lanes of traffic while the rehabilitated westbound carriageway will accommodate three lanes.

Overcoming the challenges

THE new eastbound carriageway has been constructed across sand dunes, wetland areas and through sections of indigenous coastal forest a mere four metres above mean sea level. Some of the challenges encountered were:

Environmental: Before construction, sensitive plant species were removed and placed in a nursery on site.

Some 10 000 indigenous plants have since been relocated back to the road reserve. Implementation of the Environmental Management Plan through compliance monitoring by environmental consultants is ongoing and environmental awareness training is being given to contractors and staff.

Holding ponds have also been constructed on the banks of the Nsezi River beneath the road bridge at the eSikhaweni intersection, should there be a collision and a spillage of hazardous chemicals.

Security: Theft and vandalism have been a major concern and have escalated costs: cables, construction materials, truck wheels, lighting, guardrails, tools and equipment, etc.

Engineering: Construction is currently underway on the busy 1,6km section of road through Empangeni Rail where the existing two-lane roadway is to be upgraded to six lanes.

This section also involves demolishing the existing bridge over the railway line, without disrupting service, and replacing it with two larger bridges to carry the two carriageways. This last major contract on the project, valued at R132-million, will see the final completion of the entire project.

Employment

A feature of this project has been the maximising of opportunities for the employment of local job seekers and for the development of new entrants in the construction sector.

Some 112 contracts have been awarded to emerging contractors. The value of this work exceeds R221-million and 2 450 local jobs and 152 942 person days of employment have been created.

A training centre has been established on site where CETA-accredited training providers have conducted short courses and training modules.

Courses offered included bricklaying, pipe laying, concreting, carpentry and steel-fixing. Twelve learnership students received classroom training and contracting experience as part of the Vuk’uphile Contractor Learnership Programme.

Also, more than 250 youth were employed and trained under the National Youth Service programme.

17 FEBRUARY 2014

Patience and speed limits tested

LONG-suffering Empangeni Rail business owners as well as commuters face another huge traffic disruption when the Tanner Road South (Old Tanner Road) intersection is closed in May for four months, for construction of the new link onto the John Ross Parkway.

However, the New Tanner Road/Impala intersection will remain open for the duration and engineers will look at giving Rail traffic more ‘green light’ time.

This was one of the matters discussed at the the bi-monthly Project Liaison Committee meeting held on site on Thursday.

Construction of the R120-million Empangeni Rail section started in April 2012 and is scheduled for completion in September this year.

To date, R70-million has been spent, with R3.4-million having been paid on local wages and 89 job opportunities created on the Expanded Public Works Programme.

Construction highlights:

– At the Grantham Highway intersection (R102/P496), existing services are being relocated and raised islands are being constructed. Work can only be done at night due to excessive traffic flow. Surfacing of the R102 will also be done.

– Intersections at the new Ecojunction development near the N2 will be signalised but robots will remain green for highway traffic and will only change on demand from the side roads.

– Traffic signals and lighting at the eSikhaleni intersection are now almost complete. Cables which have often been vandalised are now completely impenetrable – even to maintenance teams!

– Sinking of 40 pilings for the new road-over-rail bridge (Bridge B) will be completed by the end of March, with building of the bridge scheduled to be completed in September.

– Construction of the eastbound carriageway at the Rail section (R102 to Bridge A) is underway, as is construction of the remaining westbound carriageway before the new rail bridge.

– The SA Roads Federation reported is has applied to have the speed limit on the highway raised from 80km/h to 100km/h. Some members were concerned this would lead to an increase in accidents.