Surveyors test N2 bedrock for Amanzimtoti interchange upgrade

Amanzimtoti residents’ interest has been piqued by activity in the vicinity of the proposed N2 Adams Road interchange project.

South African National Roads Agency Limited (SANRAL) has employed the contractor, Geomechanics to do core sampling to sustain the feasibility of the interchange upgrade project which was first mooted three years ago.

Geo mechanics moved on site about two weeks ago and has completed seven drill sites to date. They are currently busy with the eighth of 11 in total, and are expected to finalise their work by the end of July. They were commissioned to do drill samples to establish the stability of the bedrock in the greater area of interest.

They have discovered rock between 4m and 5m about 500m north of the Toti River bridge, with rock between 20m and 25m at about 50m to 100m of the bridge.
Beach sand is between 3m and 4m, red Umgeni sand at about 13m and shale bedrock at 22m and 24m.

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Short blue poles have been erected at the sampling sites, which gives surveyors a fixed point to survey from.

“This project is still in its infancy stage,” said ward 97 councillor, Andre Beetge. “The geosampling follows the artists’ and architects’ impressions which were unveiled at the public participation meeting at the Amanzimtoti Sports Centre in October 2015. SANRAL will check the feasibility of its design once it has the geo results and then re-design the project if need be, which will then be referred back to the public through a consultation process.

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The doom prophets who oppose the N2 Adams Road interchange upgrade need to realise that in the north of the city the interchanges at Umgeni, Umhlanga and Cornubia have been completed. The city has requested a R1.5-billion loan to continue with its Integrated Rapid Public Transport Network and the next phase is crucial.

Everything south of Isipingo where the Go Durban project ends, especially the rural areas, will be serviced by road transport, which will see a tremendous increase in traffic in Toti and surrounds in the next 10 years. There are massive new road projects taking place to link Umgababa to Umfume, so the proposed interchange at Adams Road will not only be nice to have, it is a must-have.”