Great walk to freedom
The Johannesburg Development Agency (JDA) has stepped up the pace of the construction of Rea Vaya Phase 1C, which will link the Johannesburg inner city with Alexandra and the Sandton CBD.
The move was further fuelled by Johannesburg Executive Mayor Cllr Parks Tau’s State of the City Address in May last year, in which he articulated his vision of creating the Corridors of Freedom throughout the city.
The building programme will include a new R72 million bridge over the M1 freeway, a public transport interchange at Watt Street in Alexandra, a dedicated walk and cycleway from No 3 Square in Alexandra to Sandton – near the Grayston Drive, along Katherine Street.
In Alexandra, sidewalks totalling 30.2km will be upgraded and improved. Traffic safety measures and street furniture along adjacent roads to the bus rapid transit (BRT) system and along feeder routes will also be introduced.
Over and above that, a bus depot will be constructed along Vincent Tshabalala Road in Alexandra.
According to JDA Chief Executive Thanduxolo Mendrew, the emphasis is on enabling the public to have easy access to public transport and side walking systems.
This, he says, is in line with the City’s Growth and Development Strategy 2040 (GDS 2040).
Mendrew says Phase 1C of the Rea Vaya network will link areas such as Alexandra and Ivory Park with Sandton and Rosebank.
Construction, which started in March 2014, will be completed by December 2016.
The Phase 1C route starts at the corner of Empire Road and Victoria Avenue, through Louis Botha Avenue, and winds up at the intersection of Lees Street and Pretoria Main Road in Wynberg.
Expanding on iconic pedestrian and cycling bridge alongside Grayston Drive, Mendrew says it will also boast high quality street furniture, public art, landscaping and public lighting. The aim is to reduce dependence on motorised transport, he adds.
“The City’s Nelson Mandela Bridge has become one of the most iconic structures of the southern gateway. This bridge will equally change the City skyline as an important northern gateway. At the same time, it will serve as an important link between Sandton and Alexandra to show that the futures of these areas are inherently connected,” says Mendrew.
The project was undertaken after a traffic and transport study indicated a high demand of pedestrian movements between Alexandra and Sandton along Rautenbach Avenue and Rooseveldt Street to Grayston Drive. The distance travelled by 10 000 pedestrians on a daily basis is about 5.2km.
The structure consists of a 250m-long concrete bridge with an 8m deck that will accommodate pedestrians and cyclists. Pedestrian and cycling lanes will be 3cm wide, each with a 2m wide barrier in the middle to accommodate landscaping features.
The bridge will have a 6m clearance from the existing Grayston Drive level. Public art that tells the history of Alexandra will be displayed along the bridge.
JDA has also been allocated R4.5 billion over a three-year period for road resealing, resurfacing and renewal throughout the city, including roads in Bryanston, Sandton, Rivonia, Parkview, Eldorado Park and Riverlea.