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Sanral is set to start the R4.7 billion revamp on the N3 Highway, with the upgrades expected to take over four years to complete.
The upgrades will occur from the Westville viaduct and the Paradise Valley interchange in Durban. This will also affect traffic near the highly popular Pavilion Mall.
Motorists should expect delays on the nearly 6km stretch of road for the 51 months needed to do the upgrades and have been told to take alternative routes where possible.
Speaking to eNCA, Ravi Ronny from Sanral broke down all of the upgrades that will take place on the N3:
- Increase the number of lanes from four to six per direction
- Upgrades to the Westville and Paradise Valley interchange
- Upgrades to overpasses on the 6km stretch
- Upgrade to roughly 1.5km for the N13, which crosses over the N3 mainline
- Improvements to the local road network
Ronny added that the route had seen an extensive increase in traffic over the last few years, with it also being the most-used freight route in the country.
That said, he noted that are several plans in place to help motorists cope with the upgrades:
- Three lanes will be open per direction over the four years
- Each interchange will have one lane open
- The M1, M5, M7 and M19 have also been upgraded to help with the divergence of traffic
Questions around supplier
Although the upgrades have been deemed necessary due to the number of vehicles that go on the route, SANRAL has been questioned over giving the contract to a company whose directors are on trial for fraud.
As reported by News24, Aqua Transport and Plant Hire has had numerous allegations of irregularity in the public sector, with its directors on trial for allegedly defrauding the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Transport of over R1.5 million.
“Sanral is aware of the allegations Aqua Transport and Plant Hire is facing. According to the information at our disposal, Aqua is not blacklisted on the National Treasury’s Central Supplier Database, and, as such, the company is not prohibited from doing business with the government and/or its entities,” the road agency said.
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