Minister Simmers opens rehabilitated Divisional Road 1688 (the old ‘Sementpad’) between Calitzdorp and Oudtshoorn
Media Release by Western Cape Minister of Infrastructure, Tertuis Simmers
Provincial Minister of Infrastructure, Tertuis Simmers, today officially reopened Divisional Road 1688 following a full rehabilitation. Divisional Road 1688 (DR01688), commonly referred to as “Sementpad” starts at the intersection near the Calitzdorp Hot Springs (km 15,64) and ends at the intersection with Trunk Road 3106 (km 43,31) (Route R62). The road is located within the Kannaland and Oudtshoorn Local Municipalities which fall within the boundaries of the Garden Route District Municipality.
Project Description
Acting Director for Operational Support, Jandré Bakker, stated that the scope on this section of road included the breaking up and crushing of the former concrete pavement, which was stockpiled, crushed, screened and blended with supplementary material for re-use as the subbase material in the new road pavement structure.
Once the concrete pavement was removed, the in-situ material was ripped and recompacted. New layerworks were constructed which included a selected subgrade, subbase and base layer. Finally, the newly constructed layerworks were surfaced with a 20 mm Cape seal.
“The existing road was one of the longest-surviving concrete pavements in South Africa, having been in service for well over 50 years. Although the road was overall very deteriorated with very poor ride quality, some original concrete panels were still free of cracks. The Department of Infrastructure is confident that this R250-milion project will contribute positively to the agricultural, economic and tourism sector in the area”, Bakker added.
Contract Period And Value
Provincial Minister of Infrastructure, Tertuis Simmers, officially opened the rehabilitated road. “The project started at the end of 2021 (as part of our Department’s response to the COVID-19 National Disaster) and was completed at the end of February 2025. I believe that infrastructure development is a job creator and what excites me is that we created 298 work opportunities with this project. This translated to over 137 000 person days of work,” said Minister Simmers.
“I am further pleased to announce that through this project we spent more on local enterprises (R16,929,605.38 against a target of R15,822,048.00), more on emerging contractor development (R33,057,409.09 against a target of R32,299,606.00) and more on targeted enterprises (R67,033,417.29 against a target of R55,134,216),” Minister Simmers added.
Executive Mayor of the Kannaland Municipality also attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony and thanked Minister and the Western Cape Government for this important project and for promoting growth and empowerment in the municipality.
The Minister further shared technical details: “Structural work on this project included four new retaining walls, widening of five major culverts and the widening of three bridges. A total of 124 pipe and portal culverts are situated on this section of road, the majority of which were removed and completely replaced.”
Thanking the team and road users
“I wish to thank the team under the expert guidance of Chief Engineer and Contract Coordinator Keegan de Waal. I further wish to thank road users for their patience during the project especially the nature of the engagement with the local community structures and agricultural sector that helped prevent any unrest or disgruntlement,” continued Minister Simmers.
“We build and improve roads. Now we need road users to play their part in using the roads responsibly. The rehabilitated pavement will have improved superelevation to accommodate an 80km/h design speed. Please do not speed or overload vehicles, and adhere to all other road rules,” Minister Simmers concluded.
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Media enquiries
Melt Botes
Spokesperson for Provincial Minister Tertuis Simmers
Email: Melchior.Botes@westerncape.gov.za
Tel: 021 483 8067
Cell: 082 431 0068
Celeste Nell
Acting Head of Communication
Department of Infrastructure
Email: Celeste.Nell@westerncape.gov.za
