R22m for new roads in Gugulethu

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Cape Town - The City of Cape Town is due to spend R22 million on a roads project to rehabilitate eight concrete roads in Gugulethu. The project is due to commence in mid-May. "Up to eight roads – NY112, NY116, NY138, NY139, NY144, NY145, NY146 and NY155 – will be reconstructed, rehabilitated, and repaired as part of the project to be undertaken by the City’s Transport and Urban Development Authority (TDA)," the City of Cape Town said in a statement. "The project includes the construction of new sidewalks with universal access for those with special needs, and the upgrade and replacement of dated stormwater infrastructure. "The contract value is approximately R22 million and the project should be concluded within one year, if all goes as planned," the City said.

"All in all we will be rehabilitating and reconstructing over 2.1 km of concrete roads, and some of the existing roads may need to be widened as well," the City's mayoral committee member for Transport and Urban Development Brett Herron said.

"Once completed, all of the new roads will have a bitumen-rubber tarmac layer. We will also build new sidewalks, and importantly, speed humps will be installed along these roads to slow down traffic. The measures will go a long way in improving the safety of pedestrians, in particular the most vulnerable road users such as children and older people."

Where needed, existing stormwater infrastructure will be replaced.

"Replacing dated stormwater gullies and pipework will prevent the roads from being flooded during downpours. This will increase the roads’ longevity, and also improve the driving conditions in wet weather. We refer to the work to be done as a fence-to-fence improvement of the road reserve which will be of great benefit to the communities living in the vicinity of the roads," said the City’s mayoral committee Member for Area Central, Councillor Siyabulela Mamkeli.

As is the case with all City-projects taking place within communities, the contractor is obliged to source goods and services from local businesses, and must provide temporary employment opportunities to local residents.

"The value of the temporary employment opportunities and goods and services to be procured from local business people must be no less than 10% and 5% respectively of the contract value, excluding contingencies, provisional sum items and VAT as outlined in the contract with the City. Thus, not only will local residents benefit from new roads and sidewalks, they will also have access to temporary jobs. I therefore urge residents to please register at the local subcouncil as the names for these opportunities must be sourced from the City’s jobseekers’ database," Mamkeli said.

"We also invite the community to attend two open days to be hosted by the TDA where officials will provide residents with more information and maps of where the work will take place. This is the ideal occasion to ask questions and to get involved in the project," Herron said.

The details of the open days are as follows:

* Wednesday 2 May from 14:00 to 19:00 at the Luyolo Community Centre in Gugulethu

* Thursday 3 May from 14:00 to 19:00 at the Ikwezi Community Centre in Gugulethu

"I want to add that the work will have an impact on the flow of traffic in these areas, and in some instances temporary road closures will be necessary. I want to thank the community in advance for their patience and their cooperation in making a success of this project," Mamkeli said.

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Cape Argus