The Gauteng Department of Roads and Transport remained determined to ensure that Gauteng residents had the option of making use of alternative, no-toll routes, once e-tolling on some of the province’s highways starts on December 3, Roads and Transport MEC Dr Ismail Vadi said on Thursday.

The department also on Thursday launched a campaign to popularise the use of alternative roads.

“The department assures the public that it will maintain the alternative, provincial routes to an acceptable and safe level on an ongoing basis so as to obviate concerns that the secondary road network will be degraded through the anticipated increase in traffic volumes on these routes,” he said.

However, he stressed that the work that was being done was not in response to the “outcry” by the public regarding the cost of e-tolling, as the work had been ongoing for a number of years.

Roads that were being upgraded included the R55 between Sunderland Ridge (Wierda road) and the N14 Krugersdorp Highway, the M1-R82 road between Johannesburg and Vereeniging, the M1 from the Buccleuch interchange to Corlett Drive, as well as the R103 between Johannesburg and Heidelberg.

The R25 between Brokhorstspruit and Kempton Park, the N14 from Pretoria to Roodepoort, the M57 between Pretoria and Kempton Park, and the Old Kempton Park road, between Elardus Park and Kempton Park, were also included in the upgrade plan.

“The upgrades on some sections of these roads are still in progress, but the bulk of the work has been done,” Vadi said.