Name of the Project
N1/N4 highway rehabilitation projects.

Location
The projects will stretch between Gauteng, Limpopo and the North West, in South Africa.

Client
Bakwena Platinum Corridor Concessionaire.

Project Description
The rehabilitation of the N1/N4 toll highway will increase the design life of the road by ten years.

The project involves the rehabilitation of the N1 highway between Pretoria, in Gauteng, and Bela-Bela, in Limpopo.

Bakwena is also rebuilding 167 km of single carriageway on the N4 between Rustenburg, in the North West, and the Lobatse border post between Botswana and South Africa.

Other upgrades on the 395 km of road under Bakwena’s control include the addition of 70 km of dual carriageway on the N4 between Pretoria and Rustenburg.

Bakwena has already added 35 km of dual carriageway on the N4.

Further, following assessments of aspects such as queue lengths and traffic capacity at toll plazas, Bakwena will also upgrade selected plazas and interchanges.

The Zambezi toll plaza will be extended by an additional four lanes and the Stormvoël plaza two lanes. The Stormvoël interchange will also be upgraded.

Two additional lanes are also being built at the Doornpoort plaza – the largest in South Africa at 40 000 transactions a day – and the Pumulani, Marikana and Brits plazas.

In addition, Bakwena is removing all manual-payment-only lanes in its network so that every lane becomes e-tag-enabled.

Jobs to Be Created
Not stated.

Value
The rehabilitation of the N1 highway between Pretoria and Bela-Bela will cost R396-million. The rehabilitation of the N4 between Rustenburg and Lobatse will cost an estimated R1.22-billion.

The cost of the additional dual carriageway on the N4 between Pretoria and Rustenburg is estimated at R1.5-billion.

The upgrade of selected plazas and interchanges is expected to cost R230-million.

Duration
The N1 highway between Pretoria and Bela-Bela is expected to be completed by the end of 2017.

The rehabilitation of the N4 between Rustenburg and Lobatse is expected to be completed by mid-2018.

The construction of all the additional lanes at the Doornpoort and Pumulani plazas is expected to be completed by December.

Construction of the two additional lanes at the Marikana and Brits plazas is expected to start in 2017.

The removal of all manual-payment-only lanes is expected to be completed by January 2018.

Latest Developments
The final phase of the R160-million toll plaza upgrade project being overseen by Bakwena Platinum Corridor Concessionaire started last month and is expected to be completed by October.

The latest phase of the project comprises the addition of one new lane in each direction at the Marikana and Brits toll plazas, and also necessitates the extension of the service tunnel and the toll canopy, the erection of two new booths and associated electrical work.

The main contractor for the project is construction management company G4 Civils, which will subcontract local companies for the various electrical and civil components of the project.

With the project requiring specialised concrete and steelwork, only 15 local labourers and artisans from the Marikana and Brits areas will be employed for the duration of the project. 

However, more local labourers will be employed once construction has been completed for aesthetic projects such as paving and landscaping.

Meanwhile, the initial upgrade at the Zambesi toll plaza has been assessed. The report shows that the upgrade has resulted in a 20-minute saving in commuter driving time. 

The time savings on the more recently completed plazas at Stormvoël, Pumulani and Doornpoort are still being evaluated. 

The upgrade at Doornpoort has so far led to an increase in vehicles per hour (v/h) in peak periods from 3 300 v/h to 3 800 v/h, an increase of 15%.

The upgrade at Brits and Marikana resulted in the closing of the extra-wide lanes westbound for abnormal vehicles from April 10 until the completion of the upgrade. Alternative routes have been made available for abnormal trucks while the upgrade is under way at the Brits and Marikana toll plazas.

The Brits alternative route entails the K25, R566 and R512, while the Marikana alternative route entails the Buffelspoort ramp, the R104 and the Kroondal ramp, says Bakwena commercial manager Liam Clarke.

The company has other improvement projects in the pipeline and has put out tenders for a dual-carriageway project that is expected to start later this year.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
None stated.

On Budget and on Time?
Not stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
Bakwena Platinum Corridor Concessionaire, tel +27 11 519 0400, fax +27 11 519 0414 or email info@bakwena.co.za.