A 100 m, R80-million underpass, which joins the two sites of the 1 900 ha mixed-development Riverfields, was officially opened by Ekurhuleni mayor Mondli Gungubele on Friday.

Construction on the 7-m-high bridge started in 2014 and took about 19 months to complete. This included a tarred underpass with a two-lane road, pedestrian walkways and cycle lanes.

The underpass would later be expanded to a four-lane dual-carriageway.

About 10 km from the OR Tambo International Airport, the Riverfields development offered a logistics and warehousing hub for many international companies and already housed brands such as Jonsson Workwear, John Deere, TakeaLot.com, Fast Freight, Fresh-to-Go and DHL, who had established distributions centres in the Plumbago Business Park.

DB Schenker’s corporate office and warehouse centre was built in the Plumbago logistics park. The Riverfields development also housed the Gleneagle Office Park, the Glen Erasmia Boulevard residential estate, the Gleneagle Estate and two other residential estates still under development.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Gungubele noted that the creation of transport channels was inseparable from urban development, citing the change that occurred next to the Ben Schoeman freeway, and the N14 between Krugersdorp and Pretoria, over the last 20 years, as prime examples.

On average, 60 people were employed during the construction phase of the bridge, which comprised a consortium of contractors and engineers, including JT Ross, VIP Consulting Engineers, AECOM, Civilcon, Pegasus Civil Engineering Contractors, CPE Consulting Engineers and Prokor.

Gauteng Roads and Transport MEC Dr Ismail Vadi noted that the development was “the first button to be pressed” in the creation of the Ekurhuleni aerotropolis, which had been identified by local government as a strategic priority investment area.

Although the construction of the project was privately funded, it also required close coordination with authorities and, in particular, the Ekurhuleni metropolitan municipality and the South African National Roads Agency. 

DEVELOPING ON ARABLE LAND
Riverfields director Dr Lardus Erasmus, with an agricultural background, said he was in “two hearts” about developing new buildings and infrastructure on land that had previously been used for mainly maize farming.

The Riverfields Development Company was owned and managed by members of the Erasmus family who had farmed the area for generations.

“You can see the good soil and [with challenges currently faced in the country], there is a need to keep on producing food. But if you look at the economic impacts this development holds, it is in the interest of the greater community to go ahead. This should not just be a financial venture; a community must be created.”

Further, he pointed out that the underpass alleviated pressure on the surrounding roads.

Riverfields had also secured rights for a regional shopping centre, which would be at the heart of a mixed-use precinct, a neighbourhood shopping centre, residential developments meeting the needs across the housing market, social and institutional users, as well as an extensive rehabilitated and a conserved wetland system.

“There is something for everyone in the development,” Erasmus said.