Johannesburg - Motorists using the N1 highway between Johannesburg and Pretoria in Gauteng can look forward to improved traffic flow as the newly constructed Allandale Interchange was officially opened today by the South African National Roads Agency Limited (SANRAL).
It has been almost three years of traffic nightmare for users of South Africa's busiest freeway, with drivers having to use different and often long routes to avoid the road works near Midrand. But SANRAL said on Thursday that it was all worth it.
"Everyone is used to traffic reports stating expect delays at Allandale interchange or slow traffic on the N1 between Buccleuch and Allandale... Today we are confident that traffic flow will be significantly improved on both the N1 and Allendale Interchange," said the agency's Project Manager, Alex van Niekerk.
He said with the development of Midrand and growth in traffic between Pretoria and Johannesburg, Allandale Interchange became one of the busiest interchanges in Gauteng, with almost 200 000 trips taking place daily between the Buccleuch and Allandale interchanges.
In total, 12.2km of road was constructed and includes the crossroad, on and off ramps and collector/distributor roads.
The interchange upgrade is one of 34 major road upgrades that are taking place in the province as part of the multibillion rand Gauteng freeway improvement project. The Allandale Interchange alone has cost the agency R350 million, with van Niekerk attributing the price tag to the complex nature of the design and creating capacity to accommodate traffic designs during the construction.
"These challenges included the very close proximity of the Old Pretoria road intersection to the east of the interchange, as well as various services such as the high mast power cables, water pipelines and telecom cables," he explained.
Five new bridges also had to be constructed at a cost of R85 million.
In order to accommodate the projected traffic flow of 92 000 trips daily on the Allandale Interchange, designers decided to allow all traffic movements should take place on a free flow basis and do away with traffic lights and no stopping is permitted through the interchange.
As a result of the design, access to the Old Pretoria Road had to be limited but the access from Pretoria and towards Johannesburg and the Midrand CBD is free flow, thanks to the underpasses that were constructed.
