Private sector unites to repair damaged roads

The private sector has stepped in to repair portions of the rapidly deteriorating roads in Mpumalanga and Limpopo. The Reinhard Transport Group is spearheading an emergency road repair project (ERRP), which was established in June 2021. Road users have witnessed the inadequate response of national and provincial road departments in maintaining these roads.

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  This led to the recognition that to maintain these roads in the short term in a passable and safe manner, the private sector would need to become involved. The project was initiated by the Reinhardt Transport Group under the direction of Rodney Housten-McMillan (chief operating officer).

A steering committee was formed which comprises representatives from transport and mining companies, communities, local businesses, the Lydenburg/Mashishing Business Chamber and provincial government. Hilton Philpot of the steering committee said that the truck and super-link trailers transport chrome ore, ferrochrome and sometimes iron-rich products on these roads from the mines located in the east of the country, to rail and shipping nodes for onward transport to markets in Asia and Europe. He indicated that these district roads were designed and constructed at a time when such enormous volumes of heavy commercial traffic were never envisaged.

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The participation of the provincial government was crucial to the ERRP as permission was required to carry out such privately funded repairs on roads under the jurisdiction of Mpumalanga Province. This permission has been granted. After a period of initial technical assessment and being informed of the planned rehabilitation programme for some of these roads by Mpumalanga Province in the medium-term, certain roads were selected for priority repairs. The focus of the repairs is potholes and edge breaks as well as rehabilitating the broad shoulders of the roads. Material sourced for the rehabilitation is mainly derived from a natural material that is present within the road reserve. The repairs commenced on February 9 on the R36 some 18km out of town and are working back towards Lydenburg/Mashishing.

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  Thereafter the team plans to tackle the D2571 (Frischgewaagd/Mosterthoek Road), a 13km stretch of road. Further emergency repairs are being considered. The road repair team is made up of local contractors. These include Modderfontein Transport which provides most of the road repair equipment. Additional equipment is provided by the Badfontein community (LEJ Construction and Projects).

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Lomalay, a women-owned company set up by Glencor some years ago, manages the stop-and-go on the R36. Road workers from the Kwena Basin and Bultkop communities (whose participation has been facilitated by Cllr Tebogo Mkhondo, Ward 4) are a vital component of the repair crew. Initial repairs have resulted in a significant improvement of the road surface.

Ongoing heavy usage and rainy weather resulted in deterioration of the recent repairs and it is recognised that an ongoing maintenance programme will be necessary. The Reinhard Transport Group has to date sponsored all the financial requirements of the ERRP and the participation by one of the major transport companies in the ERRP is to be commended. Hilton said that the project team would like to stress the difficulty in carrying out these repairs under trying conditions, due to the major traffic volumes on the R36. Hilton requests that all road users pay particular attention to the guidance of the repair team’s stop-and-go signs and directions the flag persons indicate so that the road workers can carry out their activities in a safe manner.