‘Road of death’ upgrades set to begin before year end
“It is a done deal - money committed and everything."
Upgrades to the infamous road Moloto Road, also commonly called the “road of death,” are set to begin before the end of the year, the transport department said on Wednesday evening.
“The construction and the building will be starting before the end of the year,” minister Fikile Mbalula said.
Mbalula was responding to a statement which questioned whether or not his department was prioritising upgrades to the road during an interview on the eNCA news channel.
The road runs through the Gauteng, Mpumalanga and Limpopo provinces.
“Moloto Road is a priority,” he said, adding that upgrades to the Limpopo stretch of the road has already been completed.
Next up will be the Mpumalanga and Gauteng parts.
Construction would begin before the end of 2021.
“It is a done deal – money committed and everything,” Mbalula said.
During his department’s budget for the 2021/2022 financial year in May, one of their core focuses over the medium term was upgrades to the R573.
A total of R2,7-billion was said to have been allocated for these upgrades.
In October 2020, Mbalula said the Gauteng stretch of the road was transferred to the SA National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral) for upgrades.
The local stretch of road was the last to be transferred to the roads agency, following an outcry from the community and an opposition political party.
He said they had listened to the pleas by the local communities and road users.
At the time of his announcement, Mbalula said R4,5-billion had been allocated to the project over the next five years.
Over the years, the road has made numerous headlines due to the number of crashes wherein several people were killed and/or seriously injured.
In one such incident, six people lost their lives in May when the bus they were travelling on caught fire along the road, just after the Roodeplaat Dam in May.
At the time, Tshwane emergency services department spokesperson Charles Mabaso said 57 commuters escaped the fiery crash with multiple injuries.
The bus was travelling from Marabastad to Tweefontein, in Mpumalanga.
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