CLAYTON BARNES
Political Writer
AFTER more than two years of frustration and navigating through one of Cape Town’s most congested arterials, motorists switching between the M5 and N1 can finally look forward to freer-flowing traffic from the middle of the month.
That’s when one of the lanes on the Koeberg interchange flyover or ramp B, which is designed to take motorists over the interchange and directly on to the N1, is set to open to traffic – if the weather plays along.
Leon Bester, the project engineer from HHO Africa, said that both lanes would be open to traffic by the end of the month “weather permitting”.
“We will start off with one lane in two weeks’ time, and then both lanes will be opened to traffic by the end of July,” said Bester. He said the new ramp would significantly cut travelling time from the M5 on to the N1 northbound.
“Motorists would then be able to go over the interchange and directly on to the N1 towards Century City and Bellville.”
The construction of Ramp A, which separated the link between the M5 and the N1 in a southerly direction, is complete. Also complete is the realignment of the Salt River canal.
Work on the R700m Koeberg interchange upgrade started more than two years ago, after being commissioned by then Transport and Public Works MEC Marius Fransman.
The project, to smooth one of the most problematic interchanges in the city, was the biggest roads project ever undertaken by the Western Cape provincial government.
For more than two years, motorists switching between the N1 and the M5 have had to be extra patient on the interchange. And while the contractual completion date is November, Bester said the entire project would be completed by September.
The Koeberg intersection was designed and built long before the drastic increase in traffic. A study on the N1 Corridor identified the need for several infrastructural improvements before last year‘s World Cup.
The City of Cape Town owns the Table Bay Boulevard section of the N1 between the city centre and Salt River, while the N1 from Salt River to the R300 falls under the provincial government.
The two spheres of government joined forces to upgrade the N1 from Table Bay Boulevard to the Koeberg interchange in 2008.
Phase 1 of the Koeberg interchange revamp – which included widening the N1, realigning the Salt River canal by 15m to the west of the M5, and completing the southbound ramp – was completed shortly before the World Cup.
The flyover, ramp A, was the first milestone. The revamp included the construction of linking ramps to allow a free flow of traffic between the N1 and the M5. The second phase, which includes the implementation of the N1 MyCiTi scheme, was ramp B, which will be opened this month.
The Table Bay Boulevard upgrade – which included the widening, from two to three lanes, of the southbound carriageway of the N1 through the Koeberg interchange – has also been completed.
An extra lane has also been added to the southbound carriageway of Table Bay Boulevard, between the Koeberg interchange and the Marine Drive interchange.