Upgraded Boontjieskraal Road Opens

A R43.5 million Western Cape Department of Infrastructure (DOI) project to upgrade and conduct emergency repairs on Main Road (MR) 276 (Boontjieskraal Road) near Bot River was recently completed. MR276 is a 6.7km road that runs from the N2 between Bot River and Caledon on one end, and the R43 between the N2 and Villiersdorp on the other end.

“Before the drainage infrastructure and appurtenant works could be completed, adverse weather forced the Department of Infrastructure to shift its internal resources to respond to the impact of adverse weather conditions during both 2023 and 2024,” said Jandre Bakker, DOI Director: Operational Support. “Two sections of the road showed severe cracking at high fills. The contract included: rehabilitation work on two sections of MR276 where there was severe cracking; building a 100m retaining wall to support the road in high fill; building another retaining wall in a cutting which displayed erosion; building concrete-lined drains and sub-soil drains; installing erosion protection; installing a rumble strip in the southbound lane near the railway level crossing on MR276; replacing fencing and installing gates at legal road accesses; installing guardrails at high fills; and replacing road signs and road markings,” Bakker continued.

During the ceremonial opening of the road, Western Cape Minister of Infrastructure, Tertuis Simmers was pleased to announce that the project created 113 short-term work opportunities and 6 885 person-days of work. “R11.8 million was spent on procuring goods and services from targeted enterprises, and three local enterprises and four emerging contractors benefited from the project,” Minister Simmers continued.

“This road is of both economic and agricultural importance. The road further cuts travel time by regular users of the route which used to be a gravel road. I am often asked how my department decides on which roads to upgrade from gravel to surfaced roads and a variety of factors are taken into consideration. These factors range from the important metric of vehicle counts to condition of the road, future importance of the road and role in broader network, economic importance and others. This is, however, always done within a very tight fiscal envelope and we have to make tough decisions,” stated Minister Simmers.

“While we do our bit by constructing and maintaining quality transport infrastructure, I call on road users to do their part and use these assets responsibly,” he concluded.