South African National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral) private concessionaire Bakwena Platinum Corridor Concessionaire will conduct several maintenance and construction projects along the N1/N4 routes in 2018.

These upgrades are required to ensure that the N1/N4 route continues to meet the highest international standards for paying motorists.

Bakwena – which is now in Year 17 of a 30-year concession contract with Sanral to manage a 385 km route – started work, estimated at about R273-million, in July in Groot Marico, between Vaalkop and the Swartruggens boundary on the N4, which will take 20 months to complete, with an anticipated completion date of February 2019.

Other upcoming projects include the rehabilitation of the N4 westbound carriageway from the R512 to the Buffelspoort interchange, which is estimated to cost about R100-million and expected to start in February next year and take seven months to complete.

Another ten-month project, to upgrade the R512 interchange, which includes the provision of west-facing ramps, will start in January, at an estimated cost of R55-million.

Bakwena commercial manager Liam Clarke says construction of a second carriageway on the N4, between the M17 and the R512 (Brits interchange), will start in January – the estimated construction period is 36 months and the estimated cost R600-million.

“The project will include the extension of structures to accommodate the second carriageway and the realignment of interchange ramps to tie in with the new carriageway. The upgrade to dual carriageway will vastly improve road safety and traffic capacity.”

However, Clarke adds that the rehabilitation of the N4 westbound carriageway, between the R512 and the Buffelspoort interchange, will involve resurfacing during the course of the project (valued at about R100-million), starting in February next year.

The project, which is expected to take seven months to complete, entails overlaying the existing surface with a 40-mm-thick new asphalt surface. Base layer repairs and gravel reconstruction are also included in this project.

The Bakwena N1/N4 toll concession – which covers the N4 from Pretoria through Rustenburg to the Botswana border and the N1 from Pretoria to Bela Bela, in Limpopo – is the central link road connecting Southern Africa’s East Coast and West Coast.

Advising motorists to adhere to all designated road signs, Clarke concludes that upgrades during the construction process will enhance motorists’ driving experience and improve overall safety on the route.