Johannesburg city mayoral committed member councilor Nonhlanhla Makhuba was joined today at the city’s sod turning in celebration of the start of a R30 million upgrade of the M2 West Highway/Main Reef Road intersection.

The event marks the beginning of the city of Johannesburg’s mandate to ease congestion and improve the access to the key arterial route on the congested M2 highway.

The highest contributor of the congestion at this intersection is the through lane on R41 Main Reef from the South East approach which intersects the right turning lane from the North West approach.

“The main issue with this route is that it has one road turning left, and one turning right, which is the key cause of the congestion. The Main Reef Road plays a critical role in Johannesburg’s road network as it links some of the major freeways. You can image the frustration of this kind of traffic every day,” said Makhuba pointing to the bumper to bumper morning traffic.

The project includes a combination of additional lanes and signal optimisation. Road widening between Treu Road/ Park Drive and Crownwood Road and dedicated new lanes from Church Street up to the M1/M2 Motorway, which will ease daytime and peak hour traffic.

The head of infrastructure at Johannesburg Roads Agency, Mpho Kau noted that the city will be prioritising commuter’s safety and convenience by withholding construction work for the evenings – between 7pm and 5am – in order to minimise risk on the road for users, as well as workers on site.

“The project has a six month contract period, which will see the completion of the project by 15 December 2017. We do however hope to be completed by November,” said Kau. “Our Infrastructure has been left to decay after the previous administration. We hope to change this.”

The project is also one of the ways the city will contribute to sustainable economic growth. “Local SMME’s and labour who participate will receive 30% of the project value. The project will source about 25 people to be appointed locally.

The project will include traffic accommodation, relocation of services, construction and repair for storm water, roadworks training and upgrade of traffic.