Maintenance project improves road safety

Issued by SANRAL
Fort Beaufort, Jul 4, 2019

Periodic maintenance on the R67 between Fort Beaufort and Seymour in the Eastern Cape is improving road safety for pedestrians and motorists, SANRAL announced today.

The 14-month road maintenance project, valued at R151 million, which commenced last year is helping to create safer travel experiences for motorists.

This road connects the two towns of Fort Beaufort and Seymour along the route and is a vital link between Fort Beaufort and Queenstown.

"The installation of guard rails in the high fills as well as the construction of the Baddafort intersection has helped to improve the safety of the road. The stretch of the road was also fenced to prevent animals from crossing the road. This has made a significant change and has helped reduce the number of accidents on the road," said Mbulelo Peterson, SANRAL Southern Region Manager.

SANRAL took ownership of the R67, from Grahamstown to Queenstown, after it was declared a national road in 2012. As part of its mandate, SANRAL is responsible for maintaining this important road.

The average daily traffic on this road ranges from between approximately 600 and 700 vehicles per day in both the North and South directions. The average percentage of heavy vehicles using this road is around 12.8%. This means that approximately 89 trucks use the road in each direction every day.

Thirty SMEs worked on the project and a total of 369 jobs were created.

"This was regarded as one of the most important road development projects in the area, over the last three years, since it created job opportunities for 369 people from the local communities," Peterson said.

Nomfundo Maneli, a Seymour resident and worker at Zubra Cleaning Services and General Training, said her role in the project was to erect fencing. She worked on the project for two months and during that period she had hoped to increase her CIDB rating to level two. "We received training on safety and security before we started with the project and the training taught me things that I thought I would never know," Maneli said.

Lwando Solani, who lives in Seymour and is a construction worker at Solenzo Trading and Projects, worked on this project for three months. Before working on the project, he received one-week training on the installation of guard rails. "Since the maintenance, I am happy to say that the road is now safe for pedestrians and motorists to use," Solani said. After completing the project, Solani's CIDB level two rating increased to CIDB level three.

Nolady Booi, managing director at Azakhiwe Trading Enterprise and resident of Seymour, was responsible for stone pitching. "We did the stone pitching in such a way that no water can come through," Booi said. She worked on the project for two months, thereafter her CIDB level increased to level two.

Project scope

* Texture slurry from km 0.2 to km 40.8 both left-and-right-hand side.* Scattered asphalt patching along the length of road up to 40.8km.* Rut filling on certain sections for ruts measured to be more than 20mm.* Milling the last 1.2km 180mm asphalt and base stockpiled to be re-used and 150mm in situ carted to spoil. The subbase was replaced by recycled stockpiled material. Imported G2 Base with a cape seal black top.* Identified targeted enterprise works included: Fencing, stone pitch, subsoil drains, concrete lined drains, gabions, concrete edge beams, kerbing and paving, bus bay platforms and construction of guardrails.* Re-sealing 40.8km of the road, where 23km was a triple seal, the rest double.

Training and development

Target enterprises (TEs) or small to medium enterprises (SMEs) that participated on this project had to be registered with the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB).

They were given tender training specific to their respective packages, such as construction of stone pitching, installation of guard rails, erection of fencing and gabions. This training included a five-day intervention on Tendering for Construction Contracts and two extra days were provided for SMEs that required additional assistance.

"As a requirement for this project, it was important that tenderers were familiar with the specification that relates to the transformation of the construction industry and adhered to the policies of reconstruction and development programmes and other similar government initiatives," Peterson said.

The Target Enterprise Management Team provided guidance and mentoring to the prospective tenders and an accredited training service provider was organised to provide the necessary training. SAQA accredited competency certificates and attendance certificates were awarded to the SMEs.

Practical training was also organised for TEs. This included a two-day theory training and three-day practical skills training. The training was for fencing, guardrails, gabion and stone pitching. All participants of the training were deemed competent received SAQA accredited certificates.