Good progress on major N1 upgrade

A R487 million Department of Transport and Public Works project to upgrade a section of the N1 between Plattekloof Road and Old Oak Interchange is 58% complete.

Approximately 120 000 vehicles travel along this stretch of road during the morning inbound and afternoon outbound peak periods. The addition of a third lane in both directions will significantly reduce traffic congestion on one of Cape Town’s busiest roads. The project is expected to have been completed by April 2019.

Work on installing the Freeway Management System, fibre optic bank, and Wemmershoek pipeline is complete, as is the Old Oak inbound on-ramp, Plattekloof Road Interchange, and Phase 1 widening of the third lanes in the median. Current work in progress includes:

• Pavement rehabilitation on the N1 carriageways,
• Phase 2 median widening and installation of the concrete median barrier,
• Inbound auxiliary lane widening (Durban Road to Jip de Jager Avenue),
• Widening of the Jip de Jager Avenue Interchange and ramps,
• Construction of the Old Oak West Bridge,
• Construction of gabion retaining walls, and
• Intersection upgrading works on the Durban Road Interchange.

Daily closures are required on the main carriageways for milling out existing surfacing and laying new ultra-thin friction course surfacing. There will be closures on the outbound carriageway until the end of August 2018, again from mid-November until mid-December 2018, and then again from mid-January until the end of February 2019. There will be closures on the inbound carriageway from the end of August 2018 until mid-September, again in the first two weeks of December, and then again from mid-January until mid-March 2019.

The Old Oak Road West Bridge was demolished in May 2017 to make space for new lanes on the N1. The reconstruction of this bridge will cause some discomfort to road users until its completion, which is expected in October 2018. In the meantime, the Old Oak Road East bridge is carrying all northbound and southbound traffic.

This project is creating a number of short-term job and skills development opportunities. As of June 2018, R25 million has been spent on targeted labour while 28 681 person-days of work have been created for people from the City of Cape Town municipal areas bordering on the N1.

Join the Department on Twitter @WCGovTPW under the hashtag #roadworksWC