The Allandale Road interchange has been rated the best in the city, Rivonia Road interchange the best for connectivity and William Nicol Drive interchange for supporting infrastructure.
These were the findings of Joburg’s first new road interchange index, launched two weeks ago, which measures the performance of the city’s most popular business node off-ramps according to user mobility, roadway capacity and ease of access.
These were the findings after the new suburban mixed-use node of Waterfall in the Midrand area commissioned Arup, a global design and engineering company,
to conduct a technical evaluation of key interchanges in the city.
This was based on a rating of 1 being poor, and 5 being excellent. The study assessed interchange type and supporting road infrastructure; coverage; connectivity (travel distance from the various business nodes); daily traffic volumes; vehicle speeds; and airport and terminal access.
Overall, the N1/Allandale interchange performed the best across all criteria considered, scoring 43 points out of a possible 45.
William Nicol and Allandale were the highest ranked in the supporting road infrastructure category.
Both benefit from well-developed secondary and tertiary road networks that enable easier traffic flow and alleviate pressure off main roads.
Allandale was also the only interchange without traffic signals, encouraging free flow traffic movements and quick access on and off highways
Connectivity was another factor considered, meaning the travel distance from various business nodes within Joburg to each interchange was measured to calculate an average travelling distance.
Rivonia topped this category with an average distance of 13.2km.
William Nicol and Allandale were tied second, both averaging 14.7km
Allandale’s central location in relation to Pretoria, Joburg and the east and west of the city made it the best for coverage. It is in close proximity to all major highways and provides unparalleled ease-of-access to national logistics and transport routes
With regard to daily traffic volumes, the Allandale interchange was the only interchange found to still have extra capacity to accommodate more vehicles.
At its peak, the Allandale interchange handles almost 80000 vehicles travelling southbound and over 70000 vehicles travelling northbound a day.
Its nearest competitor, Rivonia Road, can handle only 60000 in both directions.
On average, the Allandale interchange provides the shortest distance to nearest airports and rail terminals, making it the most competitive in terms of logistical and travel considerations.
“The degree of accessibility for any city is, to a large extent, determined by the access gained from highway interchanges,” said Simon van Jaarsveld, transportation planner at Arup.
“These roadways provide access and exposure to millions of people every day and should be a key consideration when determining where to locate one’s business.”
Pete Mackenzie, head of development at Attacq, a property development company, said the findings of the index again reaffirm Waterfall as the most strategically-placed business node in the province.
“Waterfall recognises the importance of investing in solid public transport infrastructure and has funded the building of well-planned, quality road infrastructure in the area to ensure this.
“We are committed to partnering with the government and local stakeholders to make Waterfall a world-class integrated city,” he said.
Waterfall, a growing mixed-use area in Midrand, is one
of the latest growth nodes in the province.
@annacox