The South African National Roads Agency (Sanral) has announced there will be road closures taking place on the N3 highway starting Monday, 11 March, and ending Friday, 22 March.
These closures will take place between the Westville Viaduct and the Paradise Valley Interchange, from the hours of 20h00 until 04h30.
This is to facilitate the repainting of lane markings and installation of road studs as part of the construction process for the N3 road upgrades.
“The lane closures will take place on the east and westbound lanes of the N3 between Westville Viaduct (Pavilion Mall) and Paradise Valley Interchange (N3/M13 split),” said Jason Lowe, Sanral Eastern Region Project Manager.
“The Road Traffic Inspectorate, with the assistance of the contractor’s traffic accommodation team, will monitor and manage traffic during this period.”
Sanral urges motorists travelling on the N3 between these times to plan their trips accordingly, and to consider alternative routes, so as to ensure safe and timeous arrival at their destinations.
R4.7-billion upgrade
The N3 upgrade between Westville Viaduct and Paradise Valley Interchange kicked off on 01 October 2023 and is expected to cost in the region of R4.7 billion and extend over approximately 51 months, said Sanral.
The enhancements include the addition of one or two lanes to the existing freeway to create varying four to six-lane dual carriageways, plus auxiliary lanes where required, on the 5.74km stretch of the N3.
There will also be enhancements made to Eden Road, the M13, and Spine Road in the area; as well as major bridge construction works including widening of the Westville and Paradise Valley Viaducts.
In addition, other activities to be completed include:
- Relocation of services affected by the capacity improvement
- Electrical works including the installation of street lighting along the entire section
- Erection of temporary road signs, Stop/Go signals, and other traffic control devices
- Provision of pedestrian walkways with concrete barriers and public transport facilities
- Construction of gravel pavement layers, including selected layers and stabilised subbase
- Construction of mass earthworks for pavement widening, bridge upgrades on affected interchanges, and drainage
- Construction and widening of new overpasses and bridge structures, consisting of Westville Viaduct, Langford Road Overpass, Lancaster Road Overpass, Dudley Road Overpass, St James Avenue Bridge, Eden Road Bridge, and Paradise Valley Viaduct.
During the construction period, areas that will be affected are Pinetown, Westville, Hillcrest, Kloof, Marrianhill, and Pavillion Mall, and it will impact all road users that travel to major destinations including the Durban Port and King Shaka International Airport, said Sanral.
These drivers may consider the M1, M5, M7, M10 M13, M19, and St James Avenue/Harry Gwala as alternative routes.
The roads agency also said that it has embarked on an extensive communication plan to ensure that the public is fully aware of the N2/N3 upgrading and various other considerations to reduce travel time in the region over the next eight to 10 years.
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