Sanral to rehabilitate key roads in Pietermaritzburg

Roads across Pietermaritzburg that have carried the burden of traffic diverted from the N3 are set for significant upgrades after Msunduzi Municipality approved an agreement allowing the South African National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral) to begin rehabilitation work. Councillors unanimously endorsed the project at a virtual executive committee meeting on Thursday, clearing the way for City manager Felani Mndebele to sign a memorandum of agreement with Sanral, subject to approval by the municipality’s legal services unit. The upgrades form part of Sanral’s multi-million-rand N3 rehabilitation programme and will focus on municipal roads that serve as key alternative routes when sections of the national highway are closed because of construction, crashes or other emergencies.

Among the roads earmarked for rehabilitation are CB Downes, Market and Cleland roads, all of which experience increased traffic volumes during N3 closures. Under Sanral’s Work Package K, 1,5 km of Wally Hayward Drive in Ashburton and 3,9 km of Gladys Manzi Road, between CB Downes and Richmond Road, will also be rehabilitated. Work Package L includes replacing the Woodhouse Road causeway in Sobantu with a new 75-metre bridge, safety improvements to the Sinathingi River Bridge in Georgetown, and upgrades to the Siwanetshe pedestrian crossing in Willowfontein.

The improvements are intended to increase the capacity and safety of diversion routes, including the R103, CB Downes and Market Road, while leaving a lasting transport legacy for communities after the N3 project has been completed. A major component of the agreement is replacing the flood-prone Woodhouse Road causeway over the Msunduzi River with a bridge and upgrading about 510 metres of roadway. The project was originally estimated to cost more than R100 million, but Sanral has proposed cost-saving measures to reduce the cost to below R80 million, with the municipality contributing R30 million from its Municipal Infrastructure Grant. The Woodhouse crossing has long been identified in the municipality’s Integrated Development Plan because of the danger it poses during heavy rain and the number of fatalities recorded there over the years.