New interchange to ease R300 traffic
New traffic interchange on Cape Town’s R300 at Bottelary Road will help develop the area into a major distribution hub
|||Cape Town - A new traffic interchange on the R300 at Bottelary Road will help develop the area into a major distribution hub, says the Afrikaanse Handelsinstituut Tygerberg.
The R60 million upgrade forms part of projects that will cost the city R750 million over the next five years, to help ease congestion on the city’s roads.
The Kuils River upgrade, a joint initiative of the city, provincial government and Sanral, is due for completion by about the middle of 2017.
Turning the sod on Thursday, mayor Patricia de Lille said Cape Town had become the most congested city in the country as a result of increased investment and the influx of people looking for work.
But she said that more roads were not the answer to better flowing traffic in the city.
“Merely building roads will not solve the problem as this only means more cars on the road. The key to the city’s congestion plan is behavioural change.”
AHI chairman Phillip van Zijl said that while construction would cause increased frustration for motorists, in the longer term, the interchange would speed up travel time for people wanting to reach the R300 and the N1 from Kuils River and Brackenfell.
It would also make the airport more accessible, and boost tourism to the Winelands.
A huge distribution centre for Shoprite across from the interchange is due for completion towards the end of 2017. The interchange also borders on the Brackengate Business Park.
EASIER ACCESS
“The locality of Brackenfell is already good for business and is ideal for distribution. Businesses are noticing that,” said Van Zijl. “Access onto the R300 will now be easier and quicker, and it will also be easier to travel from Stellenbosch, the N1, N2 and the airport.”
Van Zijl said the R18 million widening of Amandel Road had already helped ease congestion in the area. But, until there were more public transport options available in the northern suburbs, residents had little option but to travel to work by car.
Of the R40 million the city has allocated for road congestion projects in the 2015/16 financial year, R10 million is being spent on this interchange. The city is the largest contributor to the project, contributing R31 million to the construction costs. Provincial government will be spending R29 million, while Sanral purchased the land for the interchange.
The maintenance of the road will be the responsibility of the national roads agency. The N1 is also undergoing an upgrade, due to be completed in February 2019.
Cape Argus