THE South African National Roads Agency (SANRAL) has appointed SMEC South Africa for the design and construction supervision of a new greenfield bypass around the town of Butterworth in the Eastern Cape.
It forms part of the upgrade of National Route 2, linking the provinces of Kwazulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape through increased mobility. The new route will address issues such as the current delay in travel time as well as safety concerns.
Project Director and Regional Manager, Free State, Roads & Highway Roan Ackerman said it was not every day that the company had the chance to design a greenfield project.
“We have an exciting opportunity to bring in technology that is not widely used in this field in order to make SANRAL’s work much easier. Virtual/augmented reality will enable communities and relevant stakeholders to physically see the proposed infrastructure at its location.”
Ackerman said the contract, which entails 24 months of design and 40 months of supervision thereafter, was secured as a result of the specialist key personnel put forward for the project, as well as a strong support team.
The team consists of specialists in geometric, drainage, structural, geotechnical, pavement materials and electrical engineering as well as traffic management, along with a contracts engineer and an architect.
Ackerman said strategic pricing informed by years of experience working with the client had also been a factor in the success of the bid.
