Major provincial roads handed over to Sanral
The adopted provincial roads will now get the all benefits usually only granted to highways.
In a huge breakthrough for Mpumalanga, some of its major routes will be, as gazetted, reclassified as national roads, qualifying for all benefits usually only granted to highways.
Sanral adopted some roads managed by the provincial Department of Public Works, Roads and Transport and sections of those situated in municipal areas.
The Kruger Lowveld Chamber of Business and Tourism’s (KLCBT) COO, Linda Grimbeek, has welcomed this. “This is a major breakthrough for the province, especially for tourism and businesses transporting their goods across Mpumalanga.”
The roads to be managed by Sanral are the R40 from White River to Mbombela, the Plaston road and the section in Karino leading to the airport. The Geotrail Road from the Bulembu Border to Barberton and onwards via Low’s Creek to Kaapmuiden will also in future fall under Sanral’s care.
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Certain shorter roads will include the R538 from White River to the R40 in Hazyview and the section of the R40 that connects Bushbuckridge to the R533.
The main roads around the Crossing Shopping Centre in Mbombela and the R571 from Komatipoort to the Marloth Park intersection are also earmarked. Certain main roads in White River, Hazyview and Lydenburg will benefit, too.
Grimbeek said some of these roads are in bad shape, making it difficult for motorists to drive on them. “The good thing is that some of the roads, such as those in Dullstroom and Belfast, will be rebuilt as they are totally dilapidated. However, certain others will only be repaired, maintained and refurbished.”
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According to Grimbeek, these roads will benefit businesses and attract investors. “We have been receiving lots of complaints about roads and have been negotiating with Sanral and the provincial government. Our wish was granted, as we wanted Sanral to take over so that we can have better roads, especially where key ones are concerned. All of this has now come to fruition after eight years of lobbying and endless committee meetings,” she said.
Grimbeek added that all these roads’ engineering and designing had been completed and approved, and the work will start in April 2025 with the national Department of Transport’s new budget for the year.
