46
CONSTRUCTION WORLD
OCTOBER
2014
ROADS AND BRIDGES
GIBB was commissioned by
the Ekurhuleni Municipality to
carry out the materials inves-
tigation, design and supervision for the
reconstruction of Putfontein Road from
Cloverdene Road to Kingsway Road in Van
Ryn Small Holdings.
GIBB project leader on site, Johan Le
Roux extended his thanks to a committed
team who did exceptional work to ensure
that the reconstruction road designs were
delivered on time and according to GIBB’s
world-class design standards.
“We received a 100% satisfaction report
back from the client – something we are very
proud of. The challenges with the project
included a tight deadline and several hidden
pitfalls, which GIBB managed to overcome
with a devoted team and outstanding exper-
tise,” says Le Roux.
Le Roux added that Putfontein Road
(2 450 km) long, together with intersec-
tions Cloverdene Road, Harry Gwala Street,
North Street, Van Ryn Street, Jenkins and
Nicol needed to be completed in a period
of six months as the appointment for
the contractor, Superway was only up to
December 2013.
“We are proud to announce that the
project was handed over to Superway for
construction in August 2013 and handed
over to the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Munic-
ipality on 10 December 2013 as complete
ahead of schedule,” says Le Roux.
Five additional taxi laybuys were also
completed during the construction period.
These taxi laybuys were placed at strategic
areas at intersections which are safe for
both pedestrians and road users. Up to three
taxi buses are able to stop at the same time
at the laybuys which aim to alleviate traffic
congestion caused by traffic approaching
the intersections.
“More taxi laybuys within South Africa’s
road network need to be constructed. These
roads should be on main collector roads
>
RECONSTRUCTION
benefits Gauteng commuters
Leading South African black-owned engineering consulting firm,
GIBB was praised by Gauteng Road and Transport MEC, Ismail
Vadi, for their role in the “smooth construction” of Putfontein
Road at a ribbon cutting ceremony recently. Putfontein Road will
provide a major link between the N12 and R59 resulting in major
relief for traffic flow in the vicinity.
and taxi routes as this will alleviate traffic
congestion and frustration of road users,”
says Le Roux.
According to Le Roux, another challenge
for the project was to overcome problems
with the drainage system. “The previous
drainage system was a natural open drain
which was overgrown and silted over the
years. This caused water to pond in the open
drains and on the road during rainy seasons,
which caused serious damage to the under-
lying pavement layers,” he says
Open concrete lined drainage channels
were constructed on both sides at certain
sections of the Putfontein Road to drain all
the surface water to various outlets such
as existing stormwater storm pipelines and
concrete channels.
A new 600 mm diameter stormwater
pipeline with junction boxes and manholes
were also placed at areas where the storm
water pipes cross the Putfontein Road to
ensure adequate water drainage.
“We are extremely proud of this project.
The client was informed regularly on the
progress and expenditure of the construc-
tion works and this resulted in completing
the works on time and within budget.
Progress and technical meetings were
held on site on a weekly basis between
GIBB the contractor and the client Ekurhuleni
as this was of great importance to resolve
technical and progress issues quickly,”
Le Roux concludes.
