The seventh lane at the Zambezi Toll Plaza on the N1/N4 highway will re-open on Monday (August 8) after it was temporarily closed to accommodate construction on upgrades which will include two additional lanes being built at the on- and off-ramps.
Liam Clarke, commercial manager of the Bakwena Platinum Corridor Concessionaire, said in a statement that the two new lanes would complement the recent upgrades to the interchange and approach road. “A double diverging interchange is also being introduced,” said Clarke.
The Zambezi plaza is the first of the Bakwena plazas to benefit from the R160-million upgrades planned along the N1/N4 route – including the Pumulani, Stormvoël, Doornpoort, Brits and Marikana plazas.
Based just north of Pretoria, the Zambezi plaza forms part of the trade route to the Skilpadsnek border with Botswana.
He said that the road works were scheduled to run until December 2017. “Once completed, the upgrade will increase peak time capacity by up to 20% and reduce delays by more than 20 minutes,” commented Clarke.
Construction on the Zambezi plaza started in March this year and the two new additional lanes and road works are expected to be fully completed and operational by the end of October this year, according to Clarke.