Statement delivered by the Minister of Transport, Mr Fikile Mbalula, on the KwaZulu-Natal disaster relief
Deputy Minister, Ms Sindisiwe Chikunga
MEC for Transport, Community Safety & Liaison, Ms Peggy Nkonyeni
Chairperson of the Board of SANRAL, Mr Themba Mhambi
Chairperson of the Board of PRASA, Mr Leonard Ramatlakane
Acting Director-General, Mr Mthunzi Madiya
Acting Chief Executive Officer of SANRAL, Ms Linda
Acting Chief Executive Officer of PRASA, Mr David Mphelo
The recent floods in KwaZulu-Natal left in its wake devastation that left many families destitute and critical transport infrastructure in a bad state of repair. We have moved with speed to respond to the devastation that has cut off communities from centres of economic activity and social amenities.
However, moving with speed does not always translate to immediate re-opening of roads or railway lines as the level of damage may require construction and rehabilitation that may take months to complete. As government, we have a responsibility to mobilise resources to alleviate the plight of those whose lives have been disrupted by this devastation. We must equally support those who have lost loved ones, and in some instances these were breadwinners.
Since the declaration of the state of disaster as a consequence of these floods that ravaged parts of KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape, our entities SANRAL and PRASA have been calculating the cost of the disaster in their respective spaces.
On 18 April 2022, on declaring the national state of disaster, President Ramaphosa designated the South African National Roads Agency as the lead agency on the extensive work required to repair roads in the province, starting with an immediate focus on the N2 and N3 highways.
Since then SANRAL has worked with the Provincial and municipal authorities in KwaZulu-Natal to advance the rebuilding and rehabilitation work requires to restore normalcy to the lives of the people in the Province.
Through this work, a consolidated list of affected infrastructure that includes national, provincial and municipal roads has been compiled and further assessment is still being undertaken to ensure completeness of this list.
This has enabled SANRAL and the Province to prioritise repairs to road infrastructure where communities were completely cut off, roads impassable forcing diversion of traffic to substandard alternative routes or toll roads. The N2 Northbound in Umgababa is an example of such roads.
Our interventions are multi-faceted, ranging from measures to alleviate the economic impact on road users to rebuilding and rehabilitation of the infrastructure.
Following the declaration of the state of national disaster, I made a request to the Board of the SANRAL to consider interventions that include suspension of toll fees in seriously affected areas.
As a consequence, the SANRAL Board, in line with its mandate, took a resolution to suspend the payment of toll fees at the oThongathi and Mvoti toll plazas on the N2 Toll Route. This suspension is meant to assist communities affected by the closure of alternative roads damaged by the floods. Similarly, the repair of the alternative roads, while these interim measures are in place, will be prioritized and accelerated so as to make it possible for the affected communities to be able to use them again as soon as possible.
Repair and rehabilitation work on the N2 and N3 is already underway at a total cost of R542.5 million. This work will be funded from the SANRAL budget. The following sections of the national roads are therefore receiving priority:
- Mhlali River Bridge (Northbound) - The design and construction drawings to repair damages to the bridge have been finalised. We anticipate that the repair work will be complete in 3 months from the date of the award of the contract.
- Ramp M45 Queen Nandi to N2 South over Umhlangane River - The design and construction drawings have been finalised. We anticipate that the repair work will be completed in 1 month from the date of the award of the contract.
- Louis Botha Overpass - The design and construction drawings have been finalised. We anticipate that the repair work will be completed in 2 months from the date of the award of the contract.
- Umhlanga River Bridge - The design and construction drawings have been finalised. We anticipate that the repair work will be completed in 1 month from the date of the award of the contract.
- Armco Culvert on N3 Southbound ramp at Peacevale Interchange – Design and scoping to address pavement failure and severe erosion of the road fill above the Peacevale Armco culvert have been finalised. We anticipate that the repair work will be completed in 6 months from the date of the award of the contract.
- Embankment failure on N2 Northbound carriageway - Initial assessment and scoping of the works by SANRAL to address the complete embankment failure, resulting in northbound carriageway slow lane and shoulder settlement over 1 metre have been completed. We anticipate that the repair work will be completed in 8 months from the date of the award of the contract.
- Embankment failure on N2 Southbound carriageway - Design and construction drawings to repair embankment failure resulting in cracking and settlement on the Southbound carriageway shoulder, affecting the slow and fast lanes have been finalised. We anticipate that the repair work will be completed in 10 months from the date of the award of the contract.
We are engaging with the National Treasury and the National Disaster Management Centre to finalise funding for repairs to Provincial roads.
This funding will be allocated through the reprioritisation of the Provincial Road Maintenance Grant to the tune of R3.1 billion. The Province had initially requested assistance to the tune of R5.1 billion. However, through the reprioritisation of the Provincial budget, the R2.6 billion will be funded by the Province. The following are Provincial roads and Municipal structures that have also been identified for priority repairs and rehabilitation. SANRAL has been appointed as an Implementing Agent for this work.
- M4 Slip No. 1 – Repair work to the embankment washaway with failure of the roadway, which includes the shoulder and half a lane width will take 6 weeks to complete once a contract has been awarded for this work.
- M4 Mdloti River Bridge No. 1187 – Repair and rehabilitation work to the embankment washaway, which undermines the pavement structure behind the abutment, leading to part failure of the roadway will take 2 months complete once the contract has been awarded.
- M4 Slip No. 2 – Repairs to the embankment washaway with potential to undermine the roadway will take 1 week to complete once the contract has been awarded.
- M4 Tongati River Bridge No. 1237 – Repairs to severe settlement of one pier resulting in the settlement of two bridge spans and hence the roadway above will take 12 months to complete once the contract has been awarded.
- M4 Slip No. 3 – Repairs to embankment washaway with roadway cracks indicating signs of possible failure of the pavement will take 3 months to complete once the contract has been awarded.
- R102 Culvert No. STC 2516 – Repairs and rehabilitation of the failed structure which comprised a single-span bridge, resulting in closure of the road will take 6 months to complete once the contract has been awarded.
- R102 Slip at Mhlali River Bridge No. 2556 – Repairs to the washed away road embankment in the vicinity of the Mhlali River Bridge, with resultant failure of the pavement shoulder and a portion of one lane will take 1 month to complete once the contract has been awarded.
- R102 Tete River Bridge No. 2073 – Repairs to the embankment washaway which led to the failure of the roadway will take 6 weeks to complete once the contract has been awarded.
- R102 Culvert No. STC 2538 – Repairs to the embankment washaway, with the roadway showing signs of imminent failure will take 2 months to complete once the contract has been awarded.
- Based on latest estimates for repair times affecting R102/M4, the estimated period is 12 to 16 months in respect of Otongathi and 6 to 10 months in respect of Mvoti.
The PRASA rail network in KwaZulu-Natal has not been spared the devastation of the floods. The disaster compounded an already challenged rail network that had been hit hard by theft and vandalism of rail infrastructure.
The service recovery for commuter rail will be undertaken in phases due to the severity of the impact of the floods on the rail network. The first phase will focus on restoring safe train movement in areas where damage was limited. We anticipate achieving recovery in the north between 1 to 3 months, particularly in areas where the damage is not as severe. Emergency procurement processes have been activated to introduce a diesel service by the end of May 2022 in the following corridors:
- Durban to KwaMashu
- Durban to Stanger
- Durban to Pinetown
The second phase of the recovery will focus on recovering damaged and destroyed infrastructure, which will take between 3 to 6 months from the date of the award of the contract in the following corridors:
- Durban to KwaMashu
- Durban to Umlazi
- New Main Line to Cato Ridge
- Reunion to Kelso, which will be confirmed once structural and geotechnical engineering consultants have been appointed for Illovo Bridge.
The Umlazi line remains a challenge due to major encroachment of houses into the rail reserve, rendering the sites inaccessible. We will address this challenge with various stakeholders including the affected communities. This will enable us to move faster in recovering the Umlazi line.
We are grateful that eThekwini Municipality has extended support to PRASA by offering teams to undertake clean- up and rubble removal as well as collaboration on infrastructure rehabilitation.
The quantum cost for the repairs and rehabilitation of the rail network affected by flood damage is estimated at R3.3 billion.
In conclusion, we are working closely with communities to ensure that our commitment to speedy repairs to both our road and rail infrastructure in the shortest possible time is realised.
We will inspect both SANRAL and PRASA projects and satisfy ourselves that we are making significant strides in addressing the damage to our road and rail infrastructure. We will also be engaging with communities to ensure that they are fully informed of our interventions and that they play their part in protecting the rebuilt and rehabilitated infrastructure.
