N3 Toll Concession (N3TC), the company managing a portion of the N3 toll route between South Africa's inland provinces and the Port of Durban, in KwaZulu-Natal, plans to invest nearly R1-billion on expanding and upgrading sections of the critical freight and logistics corridor over the next three years.

The company manages a portion of the N3 between the Cedara interchange near Hilton, in KwaZulu-Natal, and the Heidelberg South interchange, in Gauteng, on behalf of the South African National Roads Agency.

Work on a R444-million rehabilitation project on the road between Mooi River and Estcourt, in KwaZulu-Natal, started in 2013 and would be completed towards the end of this year.

This would see the rehabilitation of the left lane, or truck lane, as well as the laying of a new asphalt pavement surface on all lanes along this section.

In addition, rehabilitation on the N3 between Harrismith and Warden, in the Free State, would start later this month.

This 60 km section would be reconstructed in both directions and would receive a new asphalt overlay at a cost of R413-million.

Raubex subsidiary Roadmac Surfacing had been contracted to perform the reconstruction, while project designers SNA Consulting Engineers would oversee the execution of the project, which was due for completion by April 2017.

N3TC said in a statement that it was “acutely aware” of the disruption that road construction may cause to the free flow of traffic and, in an effort to limit inconvenience to road users, the company and its contractors would limit single lane closures in either direction for construction activity to 3 km sections at a time.

According to the group, “careful consideration” had been given to the timeframes of the road works programme to ensure that all four lanes were open to traffic at peak times, such as Easter and on long weekends.

“There will, at all times, be at least one lane open to traffic to regulate the flow of traffic while construction is under way. Therefore, no undue delays are anticipated. Traffic will be accommodated contra-flow in the lanes where construction is not under way at a specific time. This will allow for a safe working space for contract workers.

“We are committed to ensuring additional road capacity is added before traffic volumes increase to a level, which may negatively impact on the safety, convenience and mobility of N3 toll route users," outlined N3TC technical manager Douglas Judd.

He added that a third project – the most complex of the three construction projects – would be undertaken on the road between Cedara and Tweedie, in KwaZulu-Natal, with work to start in August.

This R400-million expansion project, over 14 km of the N3 toll route, was likely to be completed within 24 months.

Two additional traffic lanes, one in each direction, would be constructed in the existing median to increase the route's capacity in this high-traffic zone. The Umgeni river bridge would also be expanded as part of this project.

“N3TC is implementing this expansion well in advance of its actual capacity requirement to minimise the impact on heavier traffic in later years,” said Judd.

He added that, as with the other construction projects, a comprehensive traffic management programme would be put in place to minimise disruption and inconvenience to road users and, as construction would be taking place in the median, N3TC would ensure that the flow of traffic was not compromised.

“This multimillion-rand investment will be funded by N3TC with no additional tolling required. We are confident that we can deliver infrastructure of a high standard, which will not only meet, but exceed, the need for a safe and convenient road link,” he concluded.