Periodic Maintenance on the R67 between Fort Beaufort and Seymour in the Eastern Cape is improving road safety for pedestrians and motorists, SANRAL announced this week.

The 14-month road maintenance project, valued at R151 million, started last year. This road connects the two towns of Fort Beaufort and Seymour along the route and is a vital link between Fort Beaufort and Queenstown.

“The installation of guard rails in the high fills as well as the construction of the Baddaford intersection has helped to improve the safety of the road. The stretch of the road was also fenced to prevent animals from crossing the road. This has… has helped reduce the number of accidents on the road,” Mbulelo Peterson, SANRAL Southern Region Manager said.

SANRAL took ownership of the R67, from Grahamstown to Queenstown, after it was declared a national road in 2012. As part of its mandate, SANRAL is responsible for maintaining this important road.

Daily traffic on this road ranges from 600 to 700 vehicles a day both northward and southward. Of these, 12.8% are heavy vehicles, translating to 89 trucks using the road in each direction every day.

Thirty SMMEs worked on the project and a total of 369 jobs were created, according to SANRAL.

“This was regarded as one of the most important road development projects in the area, over the last three years, since it created job opportunities for 369 people from the local communities,” Peterson said.

Project scope

• Texture slurry from km 0.2 to km 40.8 both left-and-right-hand side.
• Scattered asphalt patching along the length of road up to km 40.8
• Rut filling on certain sections for ruts measured to be more than 20mm.
• Milling the last 1.2 km 180mm asphalt and base stockpiled to be re-used and 150 mm to in situ carted to spoil. The sub-base was replaced by recycled stockpiled material. Imported G2 Base with a cape seal black top.
• Identified Targeted Enterprise works included: Fencing, stone pitch, subsoil drains, concrete lined drains, gabions, concrete edge beams, kerbing and paving, bus bay platforms and construction of guardrails.
• Re-Sealing 40.8km of the road where 23km was a triple seal, the rest double.

Training and development

Target Enterprises (TEs) or Small Medium Micro Enterprises (SMME’s) who participated on this project had to be registered with the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB).

They were given tender training which was specific to their respective packages such as construction of stone pitching, installation of guard rails, erection of fencing and gabions. This training included a five-day intervention on Tendering for Construction Contracts and two extra days were provided for SMME’s that required additional assistance.

“As a requirement for this project, it was important that tenderers were familiar with the specification that relates to the transformation of the construction industry and adhered to the policies of Reconstruction and Development programmes and other similar Government initiatives,” Peterson said.

The Target Enterprise Management Team provided guidance and mentoring to the prospective tenders and an accredited training service provider was organised to provide the necessary training. SAQA accredited competency certificates and attendance certificates were awarded to the SMMEs.

Practical training was also organised for Targeted Enterprises (TEs). This included a two-day theory training and three-day practical skills training. The training was for fencing, guardrails, gabion and stone pitching. All participants of the trainings attended that were deemed competent received SAQA accredited certificates.