Sanral vows to complete Garden Route bridge, 10 years after work started

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15-06-2026
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Moneyweb
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Construction work on another R2bn upgrading project is going well, except for short delays due to recent big storms.

The South African National Roads Agency (Sanral) is spending close to R2 billion to rebuild and upgrade a few kilometres of the N2 running through Wilderness.

The road was in dire need of maintenance, with an additional aim of improving safety by reducing the number of access points onto the highway and upgrading the access points to traffic circles.

Welcomed by all, the huge project elicited some questions about another piece of the N2, where work started on widening a high-speed section of the highway nearly 10 years ago, with nothing being done for the last five years.

Temporary concrete blocks reduce the width of the highway, forcing motorists to slow down from 120km/h to 60km/h while driving centimetres from the line of concrete barriers for a few hundred meters.

The plan was to widen this particular section of the N2, some four kilometres from George towards Cape Town, by building a second bridge over the Gwaing River. Each bridge will cater for one-way travel on a road that experiences growing traffic volumes.

Sanral says that KPMM Roads & Earthworks (Pty) Ltd (KPMM) was awarded the contract to build the second bridge and to convert the road into a dual carriageway. Work began on 29 January 2018.

“The contract duration was originally 30 months. Initially, adequate progress was made by KPMM until [it] ran into working capital (cash flow) constraints, which gave rise to delays and slower progress,” Sanral explained in response to queries.

“The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic further constrained the contractor.

“The contract duration was 30 months, making the original completion date 30 July 2020, but the contract was extended to April 2021 due to slow progress.

“In April 2021, the contractor indicated that they could not proceed any further, and the contract was assigned (cession and delegation) to Mamlambo Construction, one of the subcontractors on the original contract, at the existing tendered rates.

“This became effective on 22 November 2021. At that stage, 11 months were required to complete the work,” according to Sanral.

Unfortunately, Mamlambo Construction also hit a wall. It filed for voluntary liquidation just months after starting work, in June 2022.

Sanral says the original tender amounted to R141.4 million, of which R92.3 million has already been paid.

The agency estimates that around 55% on the work has been completed, and the work done “tracks” with amounts paid. “Sanral only pays for works completed and in specification,” it says.

The estimate to complete the work is a hefty R174 million, which is mainly due to establishment on site and increased prices of materials.

Delays

Delays in appointing a new construction company lead to further delays.

For instance, Sanral had to apply for an extension of an earlier environmental impact study for the project. That had to go through the whole process, including calling for public comment.

Infinity Environmental stated in an advertisement that Sanral received environmental authorisation from the Department of Environmental Affairs in 2017 to undertake the “listed activities” in terms of the National Environmental Management Act and the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) regulations for the 2.5-kilometre project.

A 30-day public participation period for comments on the draft amendment application report commenced on 25 March 2026 and ended on 29 April, and is currently under consideration.

Sanral says a new tender was advertised on 28 March 2024 and closed on 10 May 2024.

“Unfortunately, the procurement process was not completed as originally planned and the tender was eventually cancelled.

“The scope of work for the completion of the bridge was advertised in November 2025, and closed on 5 December 2025. The tender is currently in evaluation/adjudication phase.

“It is expected that the appointment will take place in this current financial year. Once awarded, the contract will take 18 months (three months mobilisation and 15 months of construction) to complete.

“Despite the two failed contractor attempts to complete the works, and the subsequent failed procurement process for a new contractor, Sanral is committed to completing the Gwaing River bridge successfully,” a spokesman for Sanral says.

Two projects

Sanral says work on the N2 between George and Wilderness/Sedgefield actually comprises two separate projects.

The portion from Kraaibosch (George) to Wilderness involves the rehabilitation of the existing national road from kilometre 28.6 to kilometre 36.8 at a cost of R713 million (excluding Vat).

The scope includes the complete rebuilding of the road, upgrading traffic circles, new frontage roads and widening of the road where existing intersections are to remain.

It also includes improvements to drainage, stabilisation of hills next to the road (including rock bolts, wired steel mesh systems and catch fences) and new walkways.

Work started in September 2023 and was scheduled to take 33 months, but there are delays.

“Original completion was February 2026. However, mainly due [to] unforeseen construction related factors, including physical site conditions, as well as several weather delays were encountered, which impacts on the actual completion date.

“Despite the delays, the contract progress is good,” Sanral said, adding that completion is now expected by December 2026.

Second project

The second phase involves rebuilding and upgrading 10 kilometres of the national road from Wilderness to Knysna.

It includes the rehabilitation and upgrading of the existing road, with the construction of a stabilised sub-base, asphalt base, asphalt surfacing and a friction course.

Various intersections are being upgraded to improve safety, including a new underpass to accommodate left-in, left-out access points, and the conversion of five intersections into traffic circles.

New access roads, bus stops and pedestrian walkways are also part of the project, along with new service roads and drainage systems. This part of the project began in February 2025 and will cost around R956 million.

It was originally planned to be completed in May 2028, but is now expected to take longer. Sanral says work on this project has been “severely impacted” by the two recent storms in May and June 2026.