21 Jun 2020

The resealing of Mulambakwena- Ramokgwebana road project is expected to commence in August.

Speaking during a tour of the road, director of the Department of Roads, Mr Modisa Segokgo said the road tender had been awarded to C.D.K contractors, a citizen owned company.

He said the road, which was constructed in the 1980s by laying an otta seal tarmac, had dilapidated hence it needed a facelift.

Mr Segokgo said the 35 kilometre road had been awarded at a cost of P44 million generated through the road levy fund.

He said the otta seal was durable for low volume transit roads, and that it was ideal in the 1980s as there were only a few cars.

He highlighted that as the years went by the road experienced high volumes of traffic with some trucks transiting from Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Mr Segokgo noted that part of the road which started at Masunga up to Mulambakwena was resealed as an access road for the Sebina-Masunga road.

The director said they had observed that permits to acquire mining rights caused disputes during road projects hence they had given the contractor a three months window to acquire licenses and hold consultative meetings in order to iron out any issues so that there would not be any delays.

The chief roads engineer in the North-East region, Mr Prince Moalosi said the site was handed over to the contractor on May 25, adding that the window period was part of the contractual terms for the contractor to acquire all materials and personnel needed.

Mr Moalosi said the project would involve shoulder widening and 63 culverts broadening to allow for traffic to move smoothly.

He said during the initial construction of the road all bridges and culverts were constructed to accommodate only one vehicle at a time.

Mr Moalosi explained that there were bad sections within the road that would be reconstructed to meet modern day road standards.

The engineer revealed that the contractor would not construct a new bypass to accommodate traffic flow during the running of the project. He said they would work on the other part while traffic continued to move on the remaining half.

This, he said, was to cut costs as construction of a new bypass would call for extra costs to be incurred.

He highlighted that the contractor would source gravel from burrow pits he had stipulated in his tender documents, adding that he believed no delays would be experienced.

Mr Moalosi said there was need to build community engagements which included dikgosi, councillors and other leaders in villages to ensure smooth running of projects. Ends