The Western Cape Department of Infrastructure (DOI) last week celebrated the official opening of the extensively upgraded Stanford-Gansbaai corridor. This project to upgrade and rehabilitate about 20 km of Trunk Road (TR) 28/2 between Stanford and Gansbaai, and to upgrade 3,8 km of Minor Road 4017 (OP4017) from a gravel road to a surfaced road was not only succesful but also welcomed by the commuters.
All agree that the R491,8 million investment delivers world-class connectivity with unique environmental features and significant job creation.
“TR28/2 is commonly known as the R43, and OP4017 is the road that runs between Stanford and Springfontein Wine Estate,” said Jandré Bakker, DOI Director for Operational Support. “TR28/2 has now been upgraded to a Class 1 road, OP4017 has been upgraded to a surfaced Class 4 rural road between km-0,14 and km-3,67, and 500 m of OP 4017 has been regravelled.
Asphalt overlays have also been done on 400 m of road in Gansbaai and on 3,2 km of road in Stanford, and street lighting has been installed. This extensive project was a R491,8 million investment in the area,” Bakker added.
Some of the features and additions to the road include:
• 12 bus stops have been built at accesses along TR28/2;
• Three auxiliary/climbing lanes have been built on TR28/2;
• Turning lanes have been constructed at major accesses on TR28/2;
• Major accesses from TR28/2 and OP4017 have been surfaced;
• Concrete drains and erosion control structures have been built where there are deep cuttings;
• Various stormwater drainage structures have been built;
• Guardrails have been installed and asphalt berms built at high fills; and
• Road signage has been installed.
“When constructing roads, we have to take various concerns into consideration and an interesting feature of this project is the construction of major culvert structures to allow, among others, frogs to cross the road safely by going underneath it,” said Minister Tertuis Simmers.
“Creating work opportunities through our infrastructure projects remains one of our top priorities and I am pleased to announce that this project created 369 short-term work opportunities against a target of 350. We created 68 296 person-days of work against a target of 63 266. More than R123,5 million was spent on procuring goods and services from targeted enterprises against a target of just over R91 million. We supported 16 local enterprises, but we exceeded the target of 12 emerging contractors by having 20 benefit from the project,” Simmers continued.
“I am proud of my team, but I also urge road users to use the infrastructure we build responsibly and to look after it. We do our bit for you, now it is up to road users, from drivers, to cyclists and pedestrians to play their part by looking after this asset,” Simmers concluded.
