Cape Town - Cape Town has been told by the SA National Roads Agency Limited that Sanral intends resuming the N1-N2 Winelands toll highway project, the City said on Wednesday.
Mayoral committee member for transport Brett Herron said a review application currently before the Western Cape High Court was yet to be decided.
Sanral previously agreed it would take no further steps towards implementing the toll road project pending the city's review application, he said.
It undertook to provide the city with 45 days' notice of its intention to start working on the toll project.
“Such notification was received on 6 March 2013. This means that Sanral could commence work on the project by 20 April 2013 without first resolving the City's concerns,” Herron said in a statement.
“The City does not believe that Sanral has been transparent in its engagement with the city, and hence we will ask the court to compel Sanral to provide all information necessary regarding this project as a matter of urgency.”
This would allow the review process to be concluded fairly and speedily, he said.
Herron said Sanral had so far refused to share information relevant to the costs of upgrading and tolling the N1 and N2, the likely magnitude of the toll fees, and the impacts on road users, the local economy and the city.
In March last year, the City filed an application in the Western Cape High Court to review the decision by Sanral and some ministers to toll the highways.
“This review has not yet been concluded and the City believes that Sanral's decision to go ahead with this project... undermines the right of the City and its people to have the court determine the lawfulness of the project before it commences.”
Herron said the City had made every reasonable effort to resolve the dispute through an inter-governmental dispute process.
“We believe the decisions which authorised the tolling of the N1 and N2 are unlawful, unreasonable and procedurally unfair,” he said.
Sanral general manager Vusi Mona confirmed that its legal team did issue the notification as “certain road sections are deteriorating at a fast pace.
“Please note that Sanral will not provide further comment as the matter is sub judice,” he said. - Sapa