Major Sheffield road upgrades activated for P228 and N2 interchange

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12-08-2022
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North Coast Courier
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It is understood that final approval from Sanral has been granted and work will begin as soon as October.

Homes-to-be in several developing estates north of Ballito will not be allowed to be occupied until road upgrades have been concluded.

In as little as eight months’ time, motorists could be able to use a tarred P228 running opposite Flag Animal Farm near Sheffield, where the bridge linking Sheffield and Shakaskraal is also set to have on-and-off ramps built on the south side.

While details around the cost to developers have not been indicated, these have been said to be ‘substantial’.

The three estates involved in the tarring of the road include Seaton, Springvale and Elaleni, with each developer responsible for a portion of the P228, while Seaton will cover the entire expense of the on-and-off ramps.

While a need for the upgrades have recently proven particularly urgent given the volume of traffic that had been diverted owing to holdups in repairs along the N2 at the Umhlali River bridge, they form part of a larger master roads plan project initiated between KwaDukuza municipality, the provincial Department of Transport and Sanral.

Work will include road upgrades from the Durban side of Ballito through to Tinley Manor as well.

Seaton developers, Collins Residential’s head of residential projects, Geoff Perkins, said the source of funding would be their own pockets.

“The costs for both the P228 and on-and-off ramps are substantial and paid for by the developers. The agreement is a condition imposed on the developer when Spatial Planning and Land Use Management Act (SPLUMA) approval was granted,” Perkins said.

Seaton will be spending in excess of R75-million on the upgrades.

Perkins said they would need eight months to complete construction.

Seaton is by far the largest of the four developments, with 4 500 houses to be developed on its land over the coming years. They are also required to build a new P228 alignment from the boundary of Elaleni to their main entrance, before linking back to the portion at Springvale.

Springvale Country Estate director, Mike Graham, said they had already started with work on their portion of the P228.

“The master roads plan requires that the P228 be widened and tarred from Brettenwood to the tar road at the Tinley Manor railway station.”

“These upgrades are crucial to us and other developers, whose projects were granted rezoning approval with the proviso that no houses may be occupied before the road upgrades and offramps have been completed,” Graham said.

Graham said he believed the entire Salt Rock area would benefit from the upgrades, which he said would take a huge load off the Salt Rock interchange where traffic frequently queued from beyond Brettenwood at rush hour.

“We have officially begun the process of tarring our stretch, which totals around 1.5km. We hope to be done by the end of October,” said Graham.

“It is not simply a case of levelling the road and laying down tar. All the developments are making sure that it is a strong road which can withstand the increase in traffic volume,” he said.

This translates to almost a metre’s depth of new roadway, whereas a typical road would only be 40cm.

“The current road has to be dug out, after which it will be replaced by layers of compacted material, with the final step being to tar it.”

The upgrades will be done in such a way as to allow smooth traffic flow.