Gautrain spadework begins
Lucille Davie
15 May 2006
Work on the multibillion-rand Gautrain rapid rail link between Johannesburg and Pretoria is about to begin, with the first phase of construction to kick off in mid-May and last five months.
Gauteng MEC for transport, Ignatius Jacobs, announced on Thursday that the enabling works contract will begin in the middle of May and run until mid-September. The contract was signed in February this year with Bombela, the consortium formed to construct the 80km train link.
The high-speed Gautrain will have 10 stations between Park Station in the Johannesburg CBD and Hatfield Station in Pretoria, with a link eastward to Johannesburg International Airport, a total distance of 80 kilometres. About 300 000 cars travel between Pretoria and Johannesburg on the Ben Schoeman Highway each day, and the Gautrain is expected to relieve some of this congestion.
The initial works programme will include the relocation of infrastructure - water and sewerage,
electricity and telecoms lines - as well as road upgrades, the demolition of buildings and installation of site offices.
"This work needs to be undertaken prior to the start of construction on Gautrain, in those specific areas, to ensure a smooth transition and to minimise disruption to the public," the Gautrain office said in a satatement.
The key areas to be affected are Park Station, Rosebank, Sandton and Marlboro, where the first four stations will be built.
Park Station precinct
The Gautrain in the Johannesburg CBD will be located at Park Station, east of Rissik Street and south of Wolmarans Street, on the western side of the current station building.
From mid-May, for about 12 weeks, the following road closures and traffic diversions will take place:
- Wolmarans Street will be closed to traffic between Eloff and Joubert streets
- Traffic on Wolmarans Street will be channelled into two lanes diverted via
Hoek Street to Smit Street, which will be converted into a two-way road between Harrison and Hoek streets
- Westbound traffic will be diverted via Harrison Street into Wolmarans Street
- A temporary pedestrian bridge will be erected across Hoek Street
During this period the following intersections will be altered:
- Smit and Harrison streets
- Smit and Rissik streets
- Smit and Hoek streets
- Wolmarans and Hoek streets
- Wolmarans and Wanderers streets
- Joubert and Smit streets
Two buildings immediately north of Park Station will be demolished: the Central Johannesburg College, on the corner of Smit and Sutherland streets, and Transnet's seven-storey Mentor Building, on the corner of Wolmarans and Joubert streets.
The college will be rebuilt once construction is complete, but its demolition is necessary for "cut and cover" operations - in other words, for digging tunnels, which will then be covered.
Rosebank Station precinct
Work on the Rosebank site will be done in two stages. Stage one, to begin around 22 May and expected to last three-and-a-half months, will involve infrastructure relocation, demolitions and upgrades.
The access road west of Oxford Road, between Baker Street and Biermann Avenue, will be closed while utilities will be relocated from the centre of Oxford Road to this access road.
Vehicle and pedestrian access to the properties along this access road will be available, and work at the intersection of Oxford Road and Biermann Avenue and directly in front of the Rosebank Mall parking entrance, will be conducted at night. Access to the Park Hyatt Hotel will only be via Biermann Avenue.
The pedestrian crossing opposite the Zone on Oxford Road will remain in operation, as will bus stops along this section of Oxford Road. Modutec Office Furniture at 130 Oxford Road, as well as the two houses immediately south of it, will be
demolished.
Road upgrades will take place in Sturdee, Bath and Jan Smuts avenues.
Stage two, to begin on 15 August and last a month and a half, kicks up a gear with traffic diversions along Oxford Road.
The northbound lanes of the road will be closed and traffic will be diverted along Sturdee Avenue, which will become one-way northbound; Bath Avenue, which will be designated for north- and southbound public transport; and Jan Smuts Avenue, where the capacity of the northbound right-hand lanes and the intersections with Jellicoe Avenue and Bompas Road will be increased, from where traffic will rejoin Oxford Road.
Sandton Station precinct
The initial works programme in Sandton will begin in May and will be completed in early September. The Sandton Station is to be the flagship station and will go underground for 40 metres, or 12 storeys.
Work will begin on Katherine Street and West Road, which will be upgraded, after
which the northbound side of Rivonia Road will be closed until the end of construction of the Sandton Station, at the end of 2009. Northbound traffic will be diverted along the southbound side of Rivonia Road, while southbound traffic will be diverted along West Road and Katherine Street back into Rivonia Road at Sandton Drive.
The Sandton taxi rank, on the corner of Rivonia and West roads, will be relocated to the corner of West Road and Stella Street in July.
Telecommunications and electricity cables and water and sewerage infrastructure will be relocated at the same time.
Demolition of the Sandton Town Hall and Block C of the City's municipal buildings will start in July.
Marlboro Station precinct
The site of the Marlboro portal - where the tunnel emerges - is south of Marlboro Drive between the power lines and Zinnia Drive, and about 300 metres northwest is the site of the station, west of the N3 and the Marlboro
Drive interchange.
Site facilities, offices and hoardings will be constructed, while various rail structures will be demolished. This is expected to take about two months.
The Gautrain website gives a detailed breakdown of the initial works programme and the disruption dates and times. All road diversion plans have been cleared with the Johannesburg Roads Agency.
A call centre is to be set up, where residents can get precise information concerning road disruptions and alternative routes. An SMS daily update service will give real-time traffic information.
Proclamations and expropriations
The proclamation and expropriation of land for the Gautrain was gazetted in the Provincial Gazette on 5 May. The areas affected by this proclamation are:
- Johannesburg Park Station and tunnel portal
- Rosebank Station
- Sandton Station
- Marlboro tunnel portal
- Marlboro Station
- Maintenance Yard (the eastern side
of the M1 between the Allandale and Buccleuch interchange)
In all 1 056 properties along the route - 400 of them residential - will either be fully or partially affected by the construction of the train.
Jacobs said that most owners had already been notified of the intention to expropriate their properties. He emphasised that the province was concerned with giving fair notice and not making anyone feel rushed.
"We have no intention of deliberately speeding up the process. We are treating people in a fair manner and want to make sure we take everyone on board with us," he said.
He wouldn't divulge what the expropriation budget is but said that market prices would be paid for properties. "It is a good fund - we expect a win-win situation for both parties."
Gautrain project manager Jack van der Merwe agreed: "If the budget overruns, it overruns. We won't come back and say we don't have enough funds, we will pay."
Jacobs said three or four
valuators would be consulted for each property, to reach a fair assessment.
Jacobs expressed confidence that the construction timetable set by Bombela would be adhered to. "There are punitive clauses in the contract and a tight penalty regime."
It is expected that phase one of the Gautrain - from Johannesburg International Airport to Sandton Station and north to Pretoria Station (excluding Park Station and Hatfield Station) - will be completed in time for the 2010 Soccer World Cup.
Source: City of Johannesburg
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