Toll project would have cost R1bn

TOLLING sections of the N1 and N2 highways would have cost the City of Cape Town nearly R1 billion. The now-defunct project would also not have alleviated the heavy traffic congestion in the city, the municipality has said, contradicting a statement by roads agency Sanral that its now defunct Winelands tolling project would have been beneficial to motorists.

More than 260 000 private vehicles stream into the city every day.

Sanral Western Cape manager Kobus van der Walt said that if the N1 and N2 Winelands toll project had been given the green-light by the courts, it would have provided additional capacity, as well as improved road infrastructure and safety.

But, its financial woes aside, the city had always maintained tolling would have had an adverse effect on the poor.

“Sanral’s foiled toll road project would not have solved congestion in the long term,” said mayco member for transport Brett Herron. “It would have added a financial burden to our residents without any long-term reward or benefit.

“Importantly, traffic would have been diverted away from the freeways, in particular around the toll plazas on to the city’s road network. Upgrading alternative routes would have cost the City between R258m and R516m alone, excluding the required new major interchanges and the widening of bridges to accommodate tolling,” Herron said.

He added that the city would be willing to work with Sanral “to find a workable solution for the infrastructural upgrades that may be required for the N1 and N2 freeways in future”. –

PICTURE: ASHRAF HENDRICKS COSTLY: The Huguenot Tunnel tollgate along the N1 highway just after Paarl. Further proposed tolls would have been an unnecessary burden on the taxpayer, the City has said.