Road Celebration

East London – The mayor of Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality, Councillor Princess Faku, has welcomed the introduction of two road projects, as fostering socio-economic growth, not only in the metro but also in the Eastern Cape.

The South African National Roads Agency SOC Limited (SANRAL) recently introduced the projects to the municipal leadership including the Mayor, Municipal Manager, MMC for Infrastructure and Ward Councillors in the East London City Hall.

The first project involves the dualling of the N2 from the end of the Freeway near Gonubie River to Brakfontein Interchange, a distance of 5.4 km. The project forms part of the N2 Wild Coast Road development project, which links East London to Port Edward on the KwaZulu-Natal south coast.

Assistant Design Specialist from GIBB Engineering, Quinten Cloete, said the Gonubie River bridge will be affected by the development.

“The existing Brakfontein bridge will also have to be reconfigured in order for dual carriageways on both sides to be constructed under it. Underpasses connecting various settlements and farms have also been investigated.”

A pedestrian analysis was done to establish how community members can safely cross the N2 from the settlements in Brakfontein.

The concept design report is complete and under review. It will be submitted to SANRAL in early December. “The actual implementation by the contractor will take place in 2027, due to the amount of work involved in the design phase, especially the structures,” he said.

The 5.6 km dualling from N6 Ducats to Nahoon Interchange includes additional lanes with minimum structural design, a 5m median and two sidewalks on both sides to enhance road safety.

There is a proposal for changes in respect of the N6 and R72 on-ramps to the N2 in Abbosford due to peak traffic congestion. The awarding of the contract for this project is expected to happen in late 2026 to early 2027.

Mayor Faku was grateful for the projects, despite having to wait almost two years for their start dates.

“We are indeed excited, these are huge projects which will create more job opportunities for our people and will build better roads for our pedestrians and public transport users. More projects will be announced by SANRAL in the coming months. We’ve seen the beautiful Breidbach Interchange which is complete, the current R63 development near Qonce and now these new projects also in the Buffalo City Metro,” said Faku.

SANRAL completed two major projects in the metro this year: the Breidbach/Belstone Interchanges and the N2 Green River project near Qonce, worth close to R1 billion.

SANRAL Stakeholder Relations Coordinator, Welekazi Ndika, said there would be engagements with stakeholders to create awareness and to prevent land invasions of road reserves.

“We will establish Project Liaison Committees (PLCs) and we will need stakeholders to be in the PLC to assist with community needs like pedestrian crossings, material sourcing and cattle underpasses for farming areas. We will need a team from the metro, like planning and housing, to guide us where there is land acquisition involved,” noted Ndika.

The mayor added that people should feel part of these developments as they have been oppressed for too long.