The nightmare of driving on the R31 could soon be a thing of the past as the road is in the advanced stage of being handed over to the SA National Roads Agency (Sanral) by the Northern Cape Department Roads and Public Works.
THE NIGHTMARE of driving on the R31 could soon be a thing of the past as the road is in the advanced stage of being handed over to the SA National Roads Agency (Sanral) by the Northern Cape Department Roads and Public Works.
This was confirmed by Sanral this week, during the launch of the provincial leg of the national pothole repair programme ‘Operation Vala Zonke’, where Sanral is one of the stakeholders.
Northern Cape Premier Dr Zamani Saul, together with the MEC for Roads and Public Works, Fufe Makatong, launched the provincial programme on the R357 near Barkly West on Monday as part of the national programme being rolled out by Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula.
On that day, Sanral also launched a new pothole management app for the public to report potholes in their area.
The section of the R31 in the vicinity of “Zamani Lake” is also in the final stages of reconstruction after it had to be lifted due to constant flooding.
Only one lane is currently open to allow for the flow of traffic, including trucks, while the other lane is expected to be opened soon.
Randall Cable, the western regional manager of Sanral, explained that the process of handing over the R31 to the national road agency is at an advanced stage and needs to be approved by the chairperson of the Sanral board.
“The R31 only needs to be gazetted before being officially handed over,” said Cable.
He assured the public that routine road maintenance will be done regularly on the road, while long-term interventions still have to be looked at.
Cable expressed great concern regarding the number of heavy vehicles on the R31 and the negative impact that this is having on the road pavement layers.
He called for good, efficient law enforcement to be performed on the roads in the Northern Cape.
According to Cable, Sanral will soon be looking after 4,500km of roads in the Northern Cape when the R31 is handed over.
“At the moment we are looking after about 3,500km of roads in the Northern Cape. It will be increased by another 1,000km with the R31. So we will be looking after 4,500km including the R31.”
With regard to the public pothole app, Cable explained that it will work in conjunction with the Sanral road authority app and will allow the public to upload pictures, describe the problem and provide the exact location of potholes on an interactive map.
A ticket system will allow for status updates.
He explained that there are two apps, with the first being the road authority app that collects information.
“The public can download the app, take a photo of the pothole and it can automatically upload onto the system.
“The second app is meant for the public. The app is intelligent enough to identify the location of the pothole and will also send it to the relevant road authority.
“It will get work streamlined in the road authority, as all nine provinces are making use the same app. So, we can actually see all the potholes that are being reported on a national level and zoom in from a provincial level; and we can see the roads that have the highest reports and are not being repaired.
“It has a lot to do with accountability as well, because we’ll be able to see the big picture as to where the potholes are, who is responding, and who is not responding, so that we can intervene.”
