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VIDEO – N11 Hendrina Road still a nightmare, but not for long says SANRAL

The N11 between Hendrina and Middelburg is an important route for coal haulage and transportation of agricultural produce in Mpumalanga.

June 22, 2018

Gerhard Rheeder 2 minutes read

Image of the current state of the N11 Hndrina road

On average, the traffic volume on this particular section ranges from 2 500 to 3 000 vehicles in one direction per day, of which most are heavy and abnormal vehicles.

With such a high level of activity, damage to the quality of the road is inevitable.

In 2016 the South African National Roads Agency SOC Ltd (SANRAL) started with the rehabilitation of the road as part of the planned programme to improve the entire N11 route from Ladysmith in the south to the Botswana border in the north.

Also read: Two year upgrade on Hendrina road

The main aim of the project is to strengthen the existing pavement which is past its structural design life and is generally in a poor condition and introduce new features to make it safer for motorists.

The scope of work for the contract includes widening of the roadway to provide 3m wide surfaced shoulders over the 18.56km which will make it much safer considering the high volume of traffic.

Work will also be done to replace the existing large box culvert with a new single-span road-over-river bridge at Bosman Spruit, widening and rehabilitation of the existing four-span Bosmanspan River Bridge, widening and rehabilitation of existing single-span road-over-road Optimum Mine Haul road underpass bridge, construction of a new medium diameter roundabout intersection at the northern entrance to Hendrina, safety and capacity improvement of the T-junction with the access road to Pullenshoop, and minor drainage works and auxiliary road works.

Also read: VIDEO: Residents warned – beware off this man

The project is already half-way and should be completed early February 2019 as scheduled.

Fact Box:

· Contract value: R275m

· Contract commencement: 3 November 2016

· Date of completion: February 2019 [Estimated]

· Total Local labourers employed: 179 (inclusive of women and youth). Youth (18-35 years old): 77 (Male = 46; Females = 31) Non-youth (older than 35): 102 (Male = 65; Female = 37)

· Total labour outsourced: 40 skilled operators

· Current status of project: 50% complete.