The demolition of the 40-year-old Allandale Interchange bridge across the N1 Ben Schoeman freeway took place over the weekend.

The carefully-executed plan saw Jet Demolition work through the night to complete the process in time for traffic flow to return to normal on Saturday afternoon.

Following the demolition of the old bridge across the N1, work will continue to transform the interchange into a free-flow configuration.

This will see cars being able to move across the interchange freely, as there will no longer be any traffic lights at the interchange.

Traffic numbers have increased by 94% at the Allandale interchange in Midrand from 1991 to 2004.

The demolition of the infamously congested Allandale bridge forms part of the R15,1-billion first phase of the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project (GFIP), which aims to upgrade 185 km of freeway network in Gauteng, through, for example, improved lighting, upgrading interchanges, and the widening of freeways by adding new lanes.

Further phases will include 223 km of upgrades, and new roads of 158 km.

The final GFIP scheme will encompass 561 km.

Construction on the first phase of the GFIP started in June 2008 and will be completed in 2011.

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