Upgrades of Bakwena N1N4 toll plazas to increase capacity

The upgrades to toll plazas along the Bakwena N1N4 highways is a consequence of increased traffic volumes along the corridor and are aimed at increasing plaza capacity through the addition of new lanes at the plazas.

Construction across all the Bakwena toll plazas will be completed by December 2017.

"The additional lanes will be worked on and completed with as little disruption as possible at the individual plazas, which means that the existing flow of traffic will be maintained or improved,” says Bakwena CEO, Graeme Blewitt.

The first plaza to benefit from the upgrade is Zambesi, where work has already started to create two extra lanes at the on/off ramps. From 9 March, the extra wide lane on the on-ramp to the freeway has been closed in order to accommodate the upgrade. The extra wide lane on the off-ramp will also be will be closed from 17 March 2016. However, measures are in place to alleviate traffic congestion during the peak period between 6:00am and 7:30am at the on-ramp and from 4:30pm to 6:00pm on the off-ramp, Mondays to Fridays until mid-June 2016.

Duration of work

The upgrade to the plaza with the opening of the two new lanes is expected to take three months and the complete construction works is scheduled to be fully operational by end of October 2016.

Pumulani, Stormvoël, Doornpoort, Brits and Marikana will be the next plazas to be upgraded. These upgrades will see two extra lanes at Pumulani and Doornpoort, one additional lane in each direction at Brits and Marikana plazas, and one lane at the on/off at Stormvoël plaza. Work has also started on the upgrade to the Wallmannsthal on-ramp to add an additional Class 1 ETC lane to alleviate the congestion during the morning peak pariod. In the interim measures will be implemented to alleviate the current congestion.

“The planned investment value of the overall project is approximately R160m over the two year period,” continues Blewitt. “The upgrade is expected to increase capacity at toll plazas for road users with or without e-tags, improving throughput during high traffic volume periods.

“We are confident that the upgrades will be completed according to the projected timetable, as we do not anticipate undue disruption. However, we ask that road users practice caution when approaching relevant toll plazas during the construction period,” concludes Blewitt.