On Tuesday 23 May, the Western Cape Provincial Minister of Infrastructure Tertuis Simmers visited this multimillion roads’ infrastructure project. The Western Cape Government has invested R271 million into the project that is set to unlock multiple future economic opportunities in the surrounding areas.
The project is aimed at improving the capacity and safe operating conditions of the Refinery interchange between TR11/1(Route N7) and Plattekloof Road. The project also completes the dualling of Plattekloof Road between Koeberg Road and the N1. This forms an integral part of the long-term development of the N7 corridor as well as the greater integrated transport network plan for Cape Town.
Construction began in July 2021 and part of the work carried out was the demolishing of the existing bridge which was insufficient for vehicles carrying high loads on the N7. The demolished bridge will be replaced with the construction of two bridges over the N7, with one dedicated to westbound traffic on Plattekloof Road and the second for eastbound traffic.
To date the project has already created several economic opportunities with 550 jobs for jobseekers in the surrounding areas receiving employment and 35% of the beneficiaries being women. In addition to these opportunities, R43 million has been reinvested in Small and Medium-Micro Enterprises (SMMEs).
Delighted with what he saw, Minister Simmers said: “This is one of the major road projects underway in the province. One that is based on future-thinking as it will contribute towards boosting the economic activity on the N7 corridor. Since the commencement of the project, we have seen the development of commercial buildings and centers in the immediate vicinity of the project. This project will not only be beneficial to commuters but also the movement of goods and services.”
“One of my highlights on this project is the incubation of our recent Masakh’iSizwe Bursary Programme graduate Ms. Jamie Lee Stemmet. She has been appointed in the construction monitoring staff team and is gaining firsthand experience in high-value projects,” added Minister Simmers.
Other improvements include the widening of all four ramps, intersection improvements as well as widening of the Road-over-Rail bridge (B6056) and raising of the existing Plattekloof Road.
The Western Cape Government is strategically investing in its infrastructure to ensure its residents benefit from the resultant economic opportunities.
Fire Sass
I thought I wanted a job, turns out I really just wanted a paycheck
Ship Whip
A British man on safari walks into a bar far out in the reaches of a game reserve in Southern Africa, he stays at the bar for a while shooting the shit with the bartender and drinking like a fish, he offer to buy the barkeep a round and since no one else is within 2km of their small oasis of liquor the barkeep obliges. The englishman goes off to the bathroom to have a good old go at the porcelain, he\’s back and ready for a few more whiskeys. He\’s just sat down when suddenly in the distance he hears a scream. He looks over his shoulder and dismisses it as nothing, he turns to the barkeep and orders a drink, takes a sip and hears the scream again. He looks at the barkeep who just shrugs it off. A minute or two later he and the barman hear it again and go outside to take a look. They see a lone figure running towards them screaming, he spots them and lets out a cry, RUN!!!!! HE\”S COMING!!!!!
The barkeep and the Englishman both look at the terrified bedraggled sight before them, and try to calm him down, but he\’s completely inconsolable. They give him water and finally manage to get a word out of him but he struggles free from their grasp and run away screaming.
A few minutes later the same thing happens with a whole group of men running in and screaming, he\’s coming, he\’s coming the barkeep grabs hold of one of the men as he tries to sprint past the bar and tries to get information out of him, again no response other than terrified gibberish.
The barkeep and his customer are starting to get worried, they start to pack up before another group of horrified natives run up to the bar most of them flee but one tries to hide behind the bar, the barkeep pulls out a shotgun and points it at the terrified man\’s face, finally managing to coax some words out of him. \”He\’s coming for us, Vernon Koekemoer is coming for us, we have to hide!!! We have to get out of here.\” He gets up and tries to run but the barkeep grabs him, feeling trapped in a panic he grabs the barkeeps shotgun and blows his own head off. The Englishman and the barkeep look at each other starting to really panic now.
They look out of the window and off in the distance they see a tornado coming towards the bar, at the bottom of the tornado they see the hugest beast of a man they have ever seen, as he gets closer they spot that he is riding a rhinocerous and using a crocodile as a riding whip, with each smack of the crocodile across the back of the rhino the louder is screams and the faster it runs, the tornado following it getting ever larger.
The 2 look at each other and start to fortify their position, they\’ve got a gun and they\’re waaay to drunk to run, so they start piling bar stool and tables and anything they can get their hands on to make sure they\’ll be safe when he arrives. They\’re not gonna make it, they can see the man slowing down his rhino, by now the crocodile is nothing but reptile paste on the bruised rump of the half dead rhino, the rhino drops down dead from exhaustion and crashes to the ground right outside the bar the tornado loses it\’s last breath in a cloud of dust as the huge man crashes his way through the make shift barricade and charges up towards the bar where the 2 men have taken shelter, he grabs a bottle of the hardest liquor on the shelf and down the entire litre in 1 gulp, he peers over the bar sobbing and sees the 2 defenders cowering down behind the crates of beer, they look up at the mans\’ face and he stares at them with a look of complete and utter hopelessness, he stares at them for a half second and half screams, half sobs, \”Oh my god what are you still doing here!!! WE HAVE TO GET OUT OF HERE NOW!!!! Vernon Koekemoer is coming!!!!\”