Skip to main content

Re-gravelling roads in South Africa

Consultant Mott MacDonald is providing assistance for an important project for the re-gravelling of roads in South Africa’s Western Cape. The firm is helping the Western Cape Government with planning, design and control aspects of the maintenance of gravel roads within the Overberg region, one of four regions in the province. The consultancy is also working with local provincial maintenance teams and supporting the development, improvement and management of materials supply. There are around 10,000km of
August 20, 2015 Read time: 2 mins
Repairing rural roads in South Africa will improve access to the Western Cape
Consultant 2579 Mott MacDonald is providing assistance for an important project for the re-gravelling of roads in South Africa’s Western Cape. The firm is helping the Western Cape Government with planning, design and control aspects of the maintenance of gravel roads within the Overberg region, one of four regions in the province. The consultancy is also working with local provincial maintenance teams and supporting the development, improvement and management of materials supply.

There are about 10,000km of gravel roads within the Western Cape (excluding minor roads), of which approximately 1,300km are located within the Overberg region. These rural roads are susceptible to changes in traffic volumes, material properties, precipitation, temperature and even flooding, which can lead to increased deterioration. Regular maintenance activities include re-gravelling or spot re-gravelling, reworking, hard or regular blading, patching, and pothole and shoulder repairs. Suitable material sources available, such as shale, mudstone, sandstone, limestone, granite or ferricrete, need to be sourced sustainably and where possible aggregate will be obtained locally through borrow pits.

Mott MacDonald has previously supported re-gravelling and maintenance strategies in the Western Cape Province. The consultancy is using this experience to develop strategic planning and optimisation models for the sourcing and use of suitable materials from borrow pits. The condition of gravel roads will undergo detailed visual assessments and combined with annual panel inspections will contribute to an overall view of the management of the road network. 

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • G&Z pave the way as East meets West
    March 28, 2014
    The Silk Route is one of the oldest trading links between Europe and Asia and is being upgraded with some of the newest equipment. The nation of Georgia is located on what is known as the ‘crossroads’ between Western Asia and Eastern Europe. It lies to the east of the Black Sea and is on one of the shortest routes between western China and Europe. Since the Middle Ages this strategically important country has played host to one of the network of roads collectively known as the Silk Route. For much of the 20
  • Efficient construction leads to quality roads
    November 30, 2012
    Technology to assist the installation of quick laying, yet top-quality, road surfaces requiring less frequent repair, thus limiting costs and the number of construction sites, is being sought by highways authorities the world over. The European Union devised project ASPHALT (Advanced Galileo Navigation System for Asphalt Fleet Machines) for satellite navigation and fleet management may have found just what such authorities are looking for. Within the scope of the ASPHALT research project MOBA, together wit
  • Tandem solution for Cape Town road
    July 6, 2012
    Cape Town's N2 is a strategic South African highway that connects the port city with the country's southwestern region. Due to increasingly heavy traffic on the highway, it was in need of an upgrade, and fast. So one of Cape Town's largest contractors, Vusela, was awarded the government contract to remove the asphalt layers and stabilise the sub-base to strengthen the road's load capacity in preparation for resurfacing.
  • Breaking with Indeco hammers
    April 16, 2018
    Contractor New Hampshire Rock Reduction is using hydraulic hammers from Indeco for rock breaking and excavation duties. The firm says that it selected these units so as to optimise productivity and has used the breakers in quarrying as well as site development applications. Located in the northeast corner of the US, New Hampshire is one of the country’s smallest states. Noted for a rocky terrain, New Hampshire’s geology includes a heavy presence of metamorphic, especially igneous, rock formations, which yi