The Minister of Transport, Ms. Dipuo Peters together with Limpopo Premier Mr. Stanley Mathabatha and Both Zion Christian Churches (ZCC Star & St. Engenas) invite members of the media to the official opening of the completed R71 Moria Interchange in Limpopo as part of the October Transport Month (OTM) campaign.
The official opening of the interchange will take place at the ZCC sports ground on Thursday, 29 October 2015.
A solid collaboration between the Department of Transport, its entity SANRAL and the ZCC made the realisation of the Interchange possible.
OTM is aimed at showcasing infrastructure projects with major socio economic spin offs in all modes of transport namely roads, aviation, maritine, rail and public transport.
Later during the course of the day, the Minister will interact with members of the community and church to report back on the successes achieved and progress made in the transport sector but also challenges encountered in the process and issues that might be raised by the community.
Minister Peters will be joined by the provincial MEC for Transport Ms. Mapula Mokaba-Phukwana, Public Works, Roads and Infrastructure MEC Mr. Jerry Ndou, Executive Mayor of Polokwane Local Municipality Ms. Thembi Simelane-Nkadimeng, Capricorn District Municipality Mayor Mr. Gilbert Kganyago, CEO of SANRAL Mr Nazir Alli as well as senior national and provincial government officials.
The details of the Minister’s itinerary are as follows:
Official opening, cutting of the ribbon and unveiling of the plaque:
Date: Thursday, 29 October 2015
Time: 11hh00
Venue: Under the new Interchange Bridge, ZCC entrance (Moria)
Imbizo and engagement with the community
Date: Thursday, 29 October 2015
Venue: ZCC Sports Ground (First gate)
Time: 12hh00
All media houses are invited to attend. Journalists attending the event are requested to confirm their attendance with Sam Monareng: 073 491 3382 and Pat Selahle: 082 551 7775 /Mootane Kagiso: 072 763 1353
NB: Members of the media are also invited to form part of the ribbon cutting and unveiling of the plaque. Photo opportunities and interviews will be arranged.
Additional information for editors:
The South African National Roads Agency (SOC) Limited (SANRAL) is a state-owned entity falling under the oversight of the National Department of Transport. Its distinct mandate is to finance, improve, manage and maintain the national road network.
Apart from improving roads infrastructure, SANRAL is also contributing to economic empowerment and poverty alleviation by ensuring that small, medium and micro-enterprises (SMMEs) are exposed to work experiences that would otherwise not have been possible.
Improvements to R71 Road interchange
The R71 Road interchange is located on the Headquarters of the Zion Christian Church (ZCC) in Moria which falls within the Polokwane Local Municipality in the Capricorn District of Limpopo province. It is a major link between Polokwane City and the eastern tourism area of Tzaneen town in the Mopani District.
Just over a year ago, the R71 interchange towards Moria had many challenges that included constant congestion - resulting from a clogged-up two lane road running from Polokwane to Tzaneen, and consequently, a single lane for traffic coming from the opposite direction. This traffic jam would reach its peak around Easter time, when millions of pilgrims gather at the R71 interchange to access Moria, their central place of worship.
The need to rehabilitate and upgrade this section of the road was of paramount importance to sustain the traffic along the route for the next 20 years. The total length of the road is approximately 49, 0km. The project starts at Moria (km 39, 0) and ends in Tzaneen (km 88, 0).
There were a host of unavoidable road safety risks, as cars wanting to make a right turn from the interchange into Moria would do so purely at their own risk - without a guidance system or traffic control measures. To aggravate matters, road users would have to be vigilant of the thousands of pedestrians alighting minibus taxis, a factor which had contributed to the growing number of pedestrian fatalities.
But this was back in 2014, and the situation has improved dramatically since then, thanks to the intervention of SANRAL.
The upgrade cost close to R140 million. The project started in April 2014 and the aim was to have the road fully operational before the Easter weekend in 2015 which was achieved. Improvements that were made included widening, overlaying and doubling of carriageways on the R71 and construction of a pedestrian walkway on the shoulders and at the interchange.
Pedestrian safety was also taken into consideration which resulted in the construction of access to the taxi lay-bye on the R71 giving access to Moria with walkways. Median lightning along the dual R71 from km mark 34 to km mark 39 and an arched concrete bridge were also added.
During the improvement period 15 Small, Medium and Micro-sized Enterprises (SMME) subcontractors were contracted which resulted in 286 people employed. The total spend on wages was close to R17 million and 21 individuals received skills training. The local community formed of the significant workforce that worked on the project.
