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Progress is being made on plans to build a second road through the Du Toitskloof mountain, which would see vehicles travelling through the Huguenot Tunnel funneled on two separate one-way roads. (Ziyaad Douglas/Gallo Images)
The SA National Roads Agency (Sanral) is making headway in its plans to add a second road to the Huguenot Tunnel in the Western Cape.The new road will allow vehicles to travel in one direction through two separate tunnels.Sanral also confirmed that it is still in contact with scientists who want to build a big laboratory deep underneath the mountain.For more financial news, go to the News24 Business front page.The SA National Roads Agency (Sanral) is making headway in its estimated R4-billion project to build a second road through the Western Cape’s Du Toitskloof mountains by upgrading the Huguenot Tunnel north bore.
Tenders for the project are expected to be issued before the end of the year, and contractors are expected to be on site by the first quarter of 2025, said Sanral project manager Tiago Massingue in a written response to questions from News24.
There are actually already two tunnels that have been blasted through the Du Toitskloof mountain, although only one is currently used as a road.
The north bore tunnel was excavated at around the same time as the south bore tunnel, which has been a functioning road for almost 40 years.
The north bore tunnel, the centre of which is a mere 36 metres away from that of the current road, is being used as an emergency escape for the south bore.
The Huguenot Tunnel, which is widely regarded as one of South Africa’s greatest civil engineering feats, was opened in 1988 to provide a safer, faster, and shorter route between Paarl and Worcester.
A 1989 edition of a civil engineering publication explains that the north bore was excavated to investigate the geological formations along the tunnel route and was used as a service tunnel during the construction of the south bore.
The opening of a second road through the mountain will be a massive undertaking, meant to ease traffic congestion through the tunnel and improve safety standards in line with international best practices.
While vehicles currently travel in two directions through one tunnel, the new road will create one-way roads through two separate tunnels.
Development
Massingue said that the project is still in the design phase, but that the next few months should see the issuing of tenders and the arrival of contractors on site.
“While three to four years of works are being planned, it is premature to give you the exact dates, particularly if the contractor has not been appointed. Sanral will give the exact timelines once a contractor is on site,” he said.
The R4-billion project value, which was quoted in a Sanral information booklet from 2023, is only an approximate estimate that still needs to be accurately confirmed through the tendering process.
The project will include changes to the bridges and roads at the tunnel exits and upgrades to the operations control centre for the tunnel.
The idea for the project has been floated for over a decade and an initial plan had been to complete the upgrade by 2015.
However, in recent years, Sanral has been forced to undertake upgrades at the south bore tunnel, saying that after 31 years of continuous and safe operation, the electrical and mechanical systems had neared their end-of-life limits.
READ | Sanral needs R1.5bn for Huguenot Tunnel
Massingue said that there are six motivations for the project, which are quoted directly below:
Comply with International Safety Standards in the tunnel operations/environment, where heavy traffic volumes exceeding 10 000 vehicles per day are recorded;Improve traffic flow on the N1 road network, including the Huguenot Tunnel;Improve resistance and ability to respond to fire loads by upgrading the tunnel from 30MW to 100MW fire loads;Introduce the new technology for tunnel ventilation systems both for a single, and two independent tunnel bores (the north and south bores); andUpgrade the water supply systems for tunnel operations;Provision of fixed fire-fighting systems both in the north and south bores.Traffic volumes through the tunnel have been increasing at 3% per year, according to a 2023 presentation on the project co-authored by Massingue.
Massingue said that the upgrades to the north bore are not expected to disrupt the flow of traffic for the existing road.
Other initiatives
In addition to the new road through the tunnel, Massingue explained that several improvements have been made to the south bore over the last two years.
He said that upgrades have been commissioned for tunnel lighting, ventilation, and fire-detection systems.
He said that in the last week, other maintenance work has been conducted including the re-painting of the tunnel’s road paint, fixing damaged lighting fixtures, and the installation of LED road studs on the tunnel’s viaduct.
Massingue also confirmed that Sanral is continuing discussions with industry experts regarding the possible development of a deep underground laboratory, accessible through the tunnel.
READ | Scientists eye lab deep underground near Huguenot Tunnel – which may help unravel universe’s secrets
The Paarl Africa Underground Laboratory (PAUL) project, which has been in the works for a number of years, but officially launched at the start of the year, has the backing of a consortium of scientists and would be the first of its kind of laboratory in Africa.
A deep underground laboratory will allow scientists to study dark matter, among other research topics, as instruments would be shielded from background radiation by the thick layer of rock.
“There are ongoing discussions between Sanral and the experts working towards development of underground laboratories.
“These discussions have not been concluded. Technical investigations, including the feasibility of an underground laboratory, are still ongoing, which will lead to an appropriate decision in terms of the way forward,” said Massingue.
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