Radebe’s R60bn pill for Gauteng gridlock

radebe’s r60bn pill for gauteng gridlock

transport minister jeff radebe yesterday announced a r60bn plan to upgrade gauteng’s roads to combat congestion — but motorists and business will have to foot the bill.

radebe said the three-phase project would be financed through the user-pays principle, allowing roadworks to be funded without resorting to the fiscus.

the r60bn would be spent over the next 20 years to build 47 new tollgates on gauteng’s existing freeway network.

the aim of adding new tollgates to the existing six in the province was to reduce the number of private vehicles on the roads, particularly those in which drivers travelled alone during peak hours.

the automobile association of sa (aa) said the tollgates would not reduce road congestion.

the association said congestion was caused by backlogs in road infrastructure. the roads could simply not keep up with the rising number of new vehicles.

“our major concerns are the impact tolls will have on minor side-roads and streets that were not designed for the volumes of traffic that will inevitably come from the introduction of tolls,” said aa spokesman gary ronald.

he said the introduction of tollgates on new routes was understandable “as we will then be paying for something new”.

radebe said that, unlike the existing tollgates found on freeways around the country, the new gantries would be operated automatically.

electronic toll collection, widely used in europe, the us and asia, allows vehicles equipped with a transponder to pass through tollgates without having to stop.

the transponder, usually attached to the vehicle’s windscreen, operates by sending radio signals from the vehicle to the tollgate computer system through wireless technology.

drivers have to buy prepaid cards or tags to pass through the gates.

according to a study by the japan-based not-for-profit research group, tollroad, more than 70% of vehicles in new york have a transponder, called e-z pass, plastered on their windscreens, a move that has “dramatically” reduced traffic jams during the rush hours.

radebe said the new tollgates would be installed every 11km on freeways.

“we are aware that the congestion on the main routes has substantial adverse effects on the amount of time that people can spend with their families, their productivity in the workplace, levels of frustration and general unhappiness of drivers.” gridlocked vehicles also polluted the environment, he said.

besides the tollgates, radebe said, the government, through the south african national roads agency, would spend an additional r12bn to upgrade existing freeways, add extra lanes and build new roads before 2010.

a further r23bn would be spen t on the second phase of the project, expected to be completed by 2018.

the transport department said the new roads that would be build included one connecting sandton and pretoria west and one between soweto and ekurhuleni to ease traffic on the n1 and the n12 highways.

upgrades on the n1 between johannesburg and pretoria would include the installation of an extra 180 closed circuit television cameras and a further 49 variable message sign boards by april next year.