Construction World January 2015

PROJECT PROFILE

of National Route 9 REHABILITATION The UWP/Bergstan SA Joint Venture, a joint venture between UWP Consulting and Bergstan South Africa, was appointed by SANRAL on 5 July 2007 to carry out the rehabilitation investigations and design work required for the section of National Route 9 (N9) between Wolwefontein and Colesberg, 31,2 km in length. The project starts at km 63,90 on the N9 and ends at km 94,84 in Colesberg with a major new interchange with the N1.

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The N9 is a significant route connecting the Port of Ngqura (Coega) and vehicle manu- facturers GM, Audi and VW in PE and Uiten- hage with Johannesburg. The second node is the intersection of the N1 with the town of Colesberg and a major fuelling station at the entrance to Colesberg. Both intersections were previously at-grade and had many incidences of motor and pedestrian accidents, including fatal- ities. The design that was finally accepted following the consultation process with all stakeholders resulted in a new interchange being built with two overpass bridges and nine connecting ramps enabling grade sepa- ration with the N1 through road, extension or replacement of 47 culverts, flood and noise attenuation berms and realignment of utility services. The N1/N9 intersection’s final configu- ration enables traffic to move freely, without stopping, to connect with all the desti- nations such as the N9 in the south (both directions) and the entrance to Colesberg and adjacent businesses in the north (both directions). The traffic emanating from these destinations was enabled to merge safely with the busy N1 through route. While the two overpasses are similar in terms of appearance (this mainly due to consultation with an architect on the appearance of the piers and cantilevers), they were different in terms of the structural design and construction approach.

Aerial view of north overpass bridge.

CONSTRUCTION WORLD JANUARY 2015

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