WATCH: N2 contractor must re-lay concrete delaying project by at least 4 months

The never-ending repairs to the N2 toll road between Umhlali and KwaDukuza are stalled once again!

The project that has caused endless misery for motorists since February 2016 has been pushed out for at least another 4 months.

South African National Roads Agency (Sanral) Eastern Region project manager Trevor Zumani said the road, which was to be completed by end April, would now only be done by the end of August – 5 years and 8 months after the project first broke ground.

The delay has been blamed on poor quality materials and the coronavirus pandemic.

Zumani said work on the concrete pavement on the North-bound carriageway at the Mvoti River, which was completed in November, did not meet specifications and would have to be redone.

This is the same issue encountered with the previous contractor, where materials were found to be sub-standard and the concrete pavement had to be redone.

“On the Umhlali site, concrete pavement still has to be constructed on the north-bound carriageway.

“For now there is just a binding layer. The intention is to move traffic onto the south-bound carriageway by end of April,” said Zumani.

He attributed the delays to Covid-19 cases on site, coronavirus restrictions and heavy rainfall.

The aim of the project is to realign the N2 at the northern ends of both the Umhlali and Umvoti bridges, flattening sharp corners to reduce the number of crashes.

The first contractor for the R57.4 million project, Nyoni Projects, was sequestrated after having completed less than a third of the contract, having already been paid R15.5 million by Sanral.

Repeated failures to secure reliable contractors over the past 4 years has seen the busy highway reduced to a narrow lane of traffic in each direction between the 2 bridges, causing long delays for motorists.

At the time, Sanral blamed National Treasury for the holdup.

In 2019 Sanral’s then east region manager, Ridwaan Mahomed said that national policies on economic transformation had delayed the sub-contracting.

“Without getting this approval from Treasury, it was impossible for Sanral to proceed and appoint a new contractor to complete the work,” said Mahomed

The tender for the completion of the unfinished roadworks was awarded to JSE-listed construction group Raubex in late 2019, with contract administration by Naidu Consulting Engineers.

Contractors were to be on site by the first quarter of 2020.