Name and Location
R23, section 2, road rehabilitation project, Mpumalanga, South Africa.

Client
South African National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral).

Project Description
The rehabilitation project entails the reconstruction, including additional pavement layers and passing lanes, of national road R23 from Standerton to Greylingstad, in Mpumalanga.

The total distance is 56 km; however, the 4 km section of road in the urban area of Standerton has been excluded from this contract, resulting in the total distance being 52 km. The existing road is a two-lane single carriageway road with gravel shoulders on either side. The lane widths on the road are generally 3.6 m to 3.7 m, wide, while the gravel shoulders are generally about 2.5 m in width.

Value
R637-million.

Duration
The project started on March 1 this year and will take 36 months to complete.

Latest Developments
Sanral has awarded Roadcrete Africa, a subsidiary of Basil Read, the contract for the rehabilitation of the R23 national road.

The scope of work encompasses the rehabilitation and strengthening of the existing road by removing the thick bituminous surfacing layers and adding a new cement-stabilised subbase, a crushed stone base and surfacing layers.

In some instances, the subbase and selected layer material will be pretreated with lime to improve the quality of the materials.

The entire upper selected layer will be reconstructed.

The road will also be widened to accommodate climbing lanes.

Structural works include the upgrading and widening of several bridges and major culverts, owing to the widening of the road and to improve the hydraulic capacity of the structures.

The vertical alignment of the road will also be improved at the structures.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
Roadcrete Africa (road construction contract).

On Budget and on Time?
Not stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
Basil Read, tel +27 11 418 6300 or fax +27 11 418 6333.