The South African National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral) will need almost R15-billion within the next five years to upgrade the N3 between Durban and Pietermaritzburg, in KwaZulu-Natal.
The agency had earmarked R14.9-billion to upgrade the N3 between Cedara, about 20 km north of Pietermaritzburg, and Durban, Sanral design and construction divisional manager Ravi Ronny said.
Design work was under way on the upgrade which would exclude a Pietermaritzburg ring road and rerouting the N3 near Hammarsdale.
A second phase, intended for completion by 2027, included the proposed Pietermaritzburg ring road and the Hammarsdale rerouting and would cost an additional R15.8-billion.
The proposed De Beers Pass route bypassing Harrismith would be built by the N3 Toll Concession and would cost an estimated R4.5-billion.
He said the De Beers Pass route would cut 14 km from the Johannesburg-Durban trip and be safer than the existing Van Reenen’s Pass route.
By: SAPA
