By Mike Loewe

Alicedale has become a model of development, Eastern Cape Roads and Transport MEC Thobile Mhlahlo said after he turned the first sod of a R60-million tar road which will link the tourism town to national roads and the Nelson Mandela metro.

Mhlahlo also announced extensive renovations to roads and bridges in the western half of the province at the launch of the Alicedale road construction project.

He said he was dedicated to the extensive reconstruction of the R72 linking Port Elizabeth and East London to become a freeway, and road tolls – starting with the R72 – are part of the near future. A technical report had been commissioned to look at the toll issue and would be studied closely.

He said that by the end of the year 5 000 Eastern Cape households would be benefiting from the Sakha Isizwe Household Contractors Programme where each household is responsible for keeping a kilometre of secondary roads clear of stray animals, litter and weeds for a monthly fee of R450.

He said more than 30 000 road- working jobs would be created for unemployed households around the province through the Sakha Isizwe road maintenance programme, and that the programme would take care of 5 500km of provincial roads and result in the creation of a further 300km of low-volume roads.

He said Alicedale was the one town which had the discipline to respond excellently to every initiative.

“Every intervention is so visible. The changes which have taken place in this area have become an example to the province and the rest of the country.”

Referring to the decision to build the Springboks‘ rugby academy in the town, Mhlahlo said the town was on a trajectory which would result in dramatic change “in our lifetime”.

The 65km tar sections would be completed in February 2010.

He also announced that the present R87-million upgrade of the 4,8km road between the N2 and the Addo Elephant Park would continue to the town of Addo at a cost of a further R290-million.

The East London Airport to Lilyvale road will be rehabilitated, starting in January at a cost of R20-million, and two bridges crossing the Bushmans and Kariega rivers at Kenton, and the bridge over the Kasouga would be widened at a cost of R5-million. Work will start in January and end a year later.

A section of road between Nanarha and Fonteinskloof will be fixed during 2008 with work being finished by early 2010. Work on the upgrading of the narrow gauge railway line from Port Elizabeth to Avontuur would start in 2008 and R10-million had been allocated to this tourism development.

In Cacadu, 985 households had been identified to benefit from the community road maintenance project. Areas of Cacadu that would take part in the project were the Nelson Mandela Bay municipality and the areas of Camdeboo, Blue Crane Route, Makana, Ndlambe, Sundays River, Kouga, Koukamma, Baviaans and Ikwezi.

The department‘s superintendent-general, Dr Marie Annandale de Villiers, said the first community project in the Klipplaas area had worked “very well”. Klipplaat project manager Isaac Goxa said many of the project‘s 120 members had received additional training and were building roads.

Nelson Mandela Bay and Cacadu roads and transport district manager Joe Mente said project workers were learning to build roads, including gabions and to use mechanical equipment.

Department spokesman Ncedo Kumbaca said the province‘s taxi recapitalisation programme was going faster than in any other province.

The Herald