N1 through Botlokwa has been opened

On 10 July, the N1 road which cuts through the middle of the village of Botlokwa in Limpopo was opened to traffic and handed to the community. Construction began in July 2014.

Botlokwa lies on the N1 highway between Polokwane and the Beitbridge border post. The town is divided by the busy highway; as a result, some people live on one side but do their shopping or attend school on the other. In recent years, the community has seen more and more road fatalities. Paying a simple visit to a friend's house was a life-threatening exercise.

The elders of the community, together with the Provincial Roads Authority, approached the South African National Roads Agency (SANRAL) with a request to improve safety on the road in Botlokwa.

SANRAL heard the community's pleas. After some discussions, it was decided that the roads agency would separate the passing traffic and the local people by lowering the road, and fencing it off, and then build a road bridge on the existing ground level, as well as two pedestrian bridges for the local people. This way, the community would not be inconvenienced while crossing from one side of the village to the other, but their safety would be secured because the highway would be inaccessible.

Says Project Manager, Tshidi Lethale: "The project has enabled improved road safety for both vehicles and pedestrians. This was done by preventing the illegal access of pedestrians and traffic to the N1 by means of two pedestrian bridges and a vehicle bridge."

The community wanted a level crossing at the busiest intersection, so the bridge would be on the natural ground level. Subsequently, the N1 was dropped by 7m, the vehicle bridge was built with two 3m-wide walkways on either side of the road lanes, and the two additional pedestrian bridges at either end of the village were constructed above street level.

Wherever possible, SANRAL used SMEs from the village and employed unskilled and semi-skilled locals to safely direct the flow of pedestrians during construction, construct drainage structures and other concrete works, erect fences, etc. About 25 local sub-contractors were employed and 15 local businesses were employed during the construction of the project.

"In total, we lowered 1.4km of the highway, with an average of 180 people working on the project at any one time," says Lethale. "We only used local subcontractors and labour where feasible."

Throughout the process, SANRAL engaged with the community and its leaders to ensure that everyone would be satisfied with the final result and with how it was achieved.

"During construction, we held monthly meetings between WBHO, the contractors and ourselves. And the week before these meetings, we met with the Public Liaison Committee (PLC) to get their input and feedback," says Lethale.

William Mahobja, the site agent for WBHO, says the skills transfer has been an important part of the project. "You need to impart skills so that when you leave, you leave on a high note. It's important that the people benefit on an individual level, because there wouldn't have been a project without them."

For the duration of the construction, traffic was rerouted along the "old N1" that was used prior to the nineties. The success of this project is that since construction started, no further road fatalities were recorded in the town. SANRAL may consider safety awareness campaigns to enlighten the community on how to use the new pedestrian facilities.

The community has expressed its thanks to SANRAL, and people who use the new bridges report feeling safer and happier in their home town.

"Years ago, this road was killing our people," says Donald Solly Mohale, the Community Liaison Officer (CLO) for the project. "Once, there were five deaths and six accidents in a week. We asked SANRAL to move the road and they offered us the bridges, which we accepted with both hands. Since SANRAL came on-site, we have never had a fatal accident. As the community, we are happy to have the bridges and to have the agency by our side. We are happy now that we are safe."

Today, the main bridge is a substantial structure, spanning the newly surfaced highway that flows beneath it. The community can continue their daily movement from one side of the town to the other at natural ground level, without fearing for their lives. These structures have changed their lives.