The Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA) has embarked on a R4.3-million upgrade of the Jim Fouche road and Wilhelmina avenue intersection in Constantia Kloof, Roodepoort, to ease congestion and improve motorist safety.
The project will be completed in September.
“High congestion in peak hours has warranted the upgrade of the four-way stop to a widened signalised intersection. Jim Fouche is an arterial route linking Christiaan de Wet to Hendrik Potgieter roads,” JRA MD Dr Sean Phillip said in a statement.
A traffic count was taken on a normal working day which provided an accurate indication of the normal volume of traffic. The count indicated a high number of motorists during peak hours in the morning, evening and off-peak periods, necessitating the upgrade.
Jim Fouche road northbound will see the introduction of a lane turning left into Wilhelmina avenue, while a lane turning left into Constantia drive will be added to the Jim Fouche southbound.
Wilhelmina avenue will also be widened to accommodate the introduction of an additional turning lane into Jim Fouche road.
Constantia drive will see an extension of the existing median island, while a median island will be introduced on Wilhelmina avenue.
Service identification relating to the inspection of the services within the boundaries of the road reserve, such as Telkom, Neotel, Joburg Water, Eskom, Egoli Gas and City Power has started.
“Construction is set to begin towards the end of March and the community will be advised of lane closures and any disruptions to traffic; however, the upgrades will be worked upon periodically to allow flow of traffic,” Phillip said.