According to Origin Sengwane, project manager, work begun in June and is scheduled to end by December, if no delays occur.
The project started from Gavaza village in ward 28 and run right through to ward 15 in Tzaneen, where it will conclude at the Sasol garage across from Ben Vorster High School.
The South African National Road Agency (Sanral) has allocated a hefty amount of money towards the upgrade of the road.
Roadmac Surfacing is the principal contractor and their primary function is to double seal the road.

However subcontractors first have to repair defects such as patching of potholes before they can start sealing the road.
Currently subcontractors are busy fixing defects which include removing of the old asphalt and replacing with new asphalt.
Roadmac Surfacing’s site manager, Marchell Lubbe, explained to the Herald during a visit to the road construction site that resealing, also known as resurfacing, is the restoration of a road after years of neglect and damage.
He said that after the work is completed, the road will be as good as new.

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He also said that he is amazed at the amount of traffic using the road, especially for a small town such as Tzaneen.
“I have never worked in an area with this much traffic, it gets really busy especially on Friday afternoons.
“We plead with motorists to be patient with the team on site as this will be to the benefit of all. The main challenge is the lack of cooperation from motorists, who ignore the traffic controllers’ commands.
“Commuters also cross the road even when they are supposed to wait for the ‘go ahead’ from controllers.

This can be dangerous, as we are working with heavy machinery; if people are impatient and do as they please, they may be injured,” he said.
Lubbe said it is advisable to leave early for your destination when using the R36 as they do need to stop traffic to continue with their work.
The Herald witnessed the lack of patience from motorists as they drive onto the road that is under construction. Sengwane confirmed that in the next few years Sanral is planning to undertake another upgrade of the road by possibly broadening it to a four lane road.

He further mentioned that currently they are working on the design of the road and sometime next year there will be more information available in terms of the specifications of the project.