Motorist relief as N2 roadworks completed between Umhlali and Umvoti
Zumani apologised to motorists for the delay in finalising the project and thanked them for their patience.
Motorists travelling on the N2 north of Ballito are relieved about no longer having to face the frustration of negotiating roadworks between Umhlali and Umvoti bridges, an irritation which lasted five years and 8 months.
The R57.4-million upgrade between Ballito and Stanger came to a grinding halt when the main contractor, Inyoni Projects, failed to source materials.
The contract was eventually terminated and the company filed for business rescue, but was later sequestrated.
After almost 6 years of bumper-to-bumper afternoon traffic and a number of accidents, the upgrade was finally completed in October last year after the tender for completion was awarded to JSE-listed construction group Raubex at the end of 2019.
The completion date was set for April 2021, but South African National Roads Agency (Sanral) eastern region project manager, Trevor Zumani, last Friday said the Covid-19 lockdowns caused further delays.
The construction sector could only start work under lockdown level 3.
Since the new contractors took over, costs for the completion of the upgrade escalated to R84-million.
Zumani apologised to motorists for the delay in finalising the project and thanked them for their patience.
Referring to the potholes at the Umvoti Toll Plaza, Zumani said this had been brought to Sanral’s attention and a project was in the pipeline to redo the apron in the upcoming financial year.
This project, he said, was still in the planning stages, with financing from treasury yet to be approved.
Once the go-ahead is given, Zumani said work at Umvoti would be done on a lane-by-lane basis and he expected the project to take about 12 months.
For breaking news follow The North Coast Courier on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
Join our Telegram Broadcast Service at: https://t.me/joinchat/yJULuN8NaCs5OGM0
Join our WhatsApp Broadcast Service: Simply add 082 792 9405 (North Coast Courier) as a contact to your phone, and WhatsApp your name and surname to the same number to be added.
