Good progress is being made with a Department of Transport and Public Works project to upgrade the MR344 (R102) between Hartenbos and Greak Brak River, as well as the DR1578 between Tergniet and Wolwedans. This R182 million project started in January 2018. Construction activities are being undertaken simultaneously in a number of areas, with stop/ go controls to manage the flow of traffic where necessary. Despite a number of setbacks, the project is expected to be complete by mid-2020 as originally planned.
Little Brak River Bridge works
The R102 between Swan’s Nursery and Riverside remains closed for remedial works on the bridge over the Little Brak River. Access will continue to be provided through this closure for residents living along the south bank of the river. The planned date of completion of the bridge and this section of the R102 is mid-October 2019.
Surfacing of completed sections
Due to unexpected technical construction issues, the opening of completed sections of road was delayed by two months. Surfacing can only take place in suitable conditions. Low temperatures and inclement weather over this period severely reduced the daily window during which surfacing could be done. The contractor has now finished surfacing new sections of road. Once the temperature is high enough to minimise the risk of a loss of surfacing stone, these sections will be opened to traffic. The R102 up to Swan’s Nursery is now fully open. The closed section of the R102 between Tergniet/ Sorgfontein intersection and Fraaiuitsig will be fully open by 4 June 2019.
De Dekke to Souwesia
Work at the De Dekke traffic circle to complete the traffic islands and kerbs is currently taking place under live traffic conditions. There might be slight delays and temporary deviations until this work is complete. The new section of the R102 is fully open between De Dekke and the Souwesia road intersection.
Half-width construction with stop/ go controls
There is a stop/ go control on the R102 at the Souwesia Road intersection to allow half-width construction to continue up to the Tergniet/ Sorgfontein intersection. Work on one lane of the DR1578 between Impala Road and the N2 bridge will be complete by 4 June 2019, but stop/ go controls will remain to permit half-width construction on the other lane. These two stop/ go sections are linked and the waiting period here will be slightly longer than before.
At Fraaiuitsig, work on one half of the Impala Road/ R102 intersection will be complete by 4 June 2019, but stop/ go controls will remain in place to permit construction to take place on the other half. The waiting period at this intersection is fortunately very short.
Work on one half of the R102 from the new culvert at Riverside past the T-junction at Stonehill will be complete by 4 June 2019, but stop/ go controls will remain in place to permit construction to take place on the other half. The waiting period at this intersection is fortunately also very short.
Work on one half of the DR1578 from Reebokstene factory to the Freimersheim intersection at the chicken farm has been completed, but stop/ go controls remain in place to permit construction on the other half.
The project team apologises for the unavoidable inconvenience that these stop/ go closures will cause. Road users are requested to be patient and adhere to applicable speed limits. The safety of all road users and the construction teams is the contractor’s top priority.