R149 Million Road Officially Opened in Richards Bay, City of uMhlathuze Has Big Plans for Area
- The City of uMhlathuze have completed and officially opened a R149 million road from Richards Bay to Alton
- The 1.9km road will connect the industrial area to the city centre and will ease congestion in the area
- Some residents of the area aren't sure about the road and have already made suggestions about what should be done
Source: Twitter
The City of uMhlathuze has big plans for the area. The municipality, encompassing places such as Richards Bay, Empangeni, Port Durnford, Vulindlela and Ngwelezane, aims to stimulate growth in and around the Umhlathuze area.
R149 million road officially opened
As part of their bigger plan, the City of uMhlathuze has completed and officially opened a R149 million road. The road was officially opened by Deputy Transport Minister Mkhuleko Hlengwa and City of uMhlathuze Mayor Xolani Ngwezi.
The road between Alton and the Richards Bay CBD was built to ease traffic congestion between the city centre and the Alton industrial area. The road also provides a link to the taxi and bus ranks and the shopping centres and malls in the CBD.
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Mayor confirms there is more to come
Speaking about the road, Mayor Ngwezi explained that this was just part of a bigger plan.
"Next to this road, a major new hospital is set to be built, thanks to a generous R100 million donation from South32 (formerly BHP Billiton). This hospital will do a lot to improve access and the quality of healthcare for many residents currently relying on clinics in Aquadene, Civic Centre, and Merensee."
He added that it would also create hundreds of new jobs in the area.
Residents have their say
Social media users, while glad, also had concerns about the road.
@Eleernest said:
“They now need to build a dedicated railway for coal from Mamparalang to NRB. Get the coal off the N2 & NRB roads.”
Elva Martin added:
“I drove on it on Friday. Very nice for now and neat. The only problem is that it could become very congested at 4 pm, coming past Taxi City with taxis rushing out. Oh, and be warned, there are speed bumps as well.”
Azele du Toit said:
“Adjust the timing of the robot. Traffic from Taxi City and ZCBF are waiting more than five minutes for it to change. It’s an accident waiting to happen as nobody wants to sit the whole day at the robot.”
Moosa 'Millo' Xulu added:
“Many more access roads are needed for R Bay. I don’t know what the then-town planner had in mind, but such alternative routes are needed. Too many single routes and unnecessary congestion are caused as a result.”
Deon de Kok said:
“That road is not going to last long. You will see potholes one of these years. Look.”
Melucy Crush Engenankinga Ntrokza stated:
Speed humps are needed from the taxi rank.”
JD KaNdaba Shandu said:
“Thank you, hoping it won't need to be fixed in the next two years.”
SANRAL issues tenders over R20 billion
Earlier this year, Briefly News reported on how the South African National Roads Agency (Sanral) was distributing tenders. SANRAL, which is responsible for the nation’s roads, confirmed that the value of the tenders amounted to more than R20 billion.
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Each province received a share of the tenders as SANRAL sought to repair roads all across the country to kick off 2024.
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Source: Briefly News
