No end in sight for N2 roadworks?

Frustrated motorists will not be happy to hear that the roadworks on the N2 north of Ballito have, once again, been pushed back.

Work on this stretch of highway began in February 2016 and, according to SANRAL’s Eastern Region project manager Ridhwaan Mahomed, was supposed to be completed in February 2017.

However, “poor materials” caused virtually all work at the site to come to a standstill and the completion date was pushed back by a full year to this month.

It doesn’t appear as though much has been done about the poor materials though, as the same excuse has been offered for why SANRAL has now pushed back the completion date to the latter part of 2018.

“As indicated previously, this contract has been delayed due to quality control issues on the site. The main cause of the delay is that the contractor is unable to obtain suitable pavement material that meets the contract specifications in terms of quality,” said Mahomed.

“Two local suppliers have supplied the material and they do not meet the project specifications.”

Also read: Poor materials stall N2 roadworks

The site has stood empty without workers for months and has actually reached the point where plants and bushes have begun to grow out of the surface where work had started on the left lane.

This despite Mahomed’s staunch denials last September that work at the site had come to a standstill due to cash flow problems.

“Meetings have been held with the contractor where the contractor did indicate that cash flow was not the reason for the delay on this project,” he said in reply to rumours that money problems were holding up the project. This week, however, Mahomed confirmed that the contractor was in trouble.

“It has come to our attention late last year that the contractor has been placed under business rescue,” he told the Courier.

“SANRAL has been engaging with both the contractor and the business rescue practitioner to explore the best possible way forward for this contract to ensure that the works can commence as soon as possible.”

Meanwhile, Mahomed rehashed the very same message to road users he offered last time: “We understand the frustration of the motorists and sincerely request that they bear with us as we are trying our utmost best to resolve the delays.”

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