The resurfaced section of Hermanus Main Road was officially opened on Friday, 14 February 2014 by Mayor Nicolette Botha-Guthrie at a gathering attended by the Deputy Mayor, Councillors, municipal officials and local business representatives.

Councillor Kari Brice from Ward 3 opened the event and welcomed all present. She expressed her gratitude to the business owners of Hermanus for their cooperation during the time that the project was in progress. Thereafter the Project Director, Dawie de Lange, gave a brief background regarding the project’s technical aspects and statistics.

The Mayor said that this was one of the major projects which took place in the Hermanus CBD. There was a lot of uncertainty about the resurfacing project, but eventually everyone was very pleased that Hermanus has a new and wider road. She also mentioned that the municipality’s Pavement Management System has identified the section between Harbour Road and Marine Drive for rehabilitation.

As the Main Road is a Proclaimed Municipal Main Road (MT028), the provincial government subsidises 80% and the municipality contributes 20% towards the maintenance of this road. An application for a subsidy was submitted to the Western Cape Government in 2012 and on 3 May 2013, the municipality received notification from National Treasury that a subsidy of R2.6 million had been approved. Without delay, the municipality commenced with a consultation process with stakeholders, which included two public meetings at which the Municipal Manager Coenie Groenewald and Cllr Ben Solomon provided valuable input. As the provincial government’s financial year ends at the end of February 2014, the project had to be completed by that date.

At a final public meeting at which the Mayor was present, it was agreed that 15 January 2014 would be the most suitable date to commence with the work, with completion envisaged for the end of February. From the outset it was accepted that excellent planning, coordination and execution would be required. The team that managed to complete this challenging project two weeks ahead of schedule consisted of:

Overstrand Municipality:     Mike Bartman, Xen Titus (Traffic)

V&V Consulting Engineers:

Project Director    -               Dawie de Lange

Project Engineer   -               Bertus van Wyk

Resident Engineer -             Robert Sinclair

Zebra/Isidima Civils JV:

Project Director    -               Andrew Thompson

Project Manager   -               Handre Roux

Site Agent            -               Jaco Smit

Business Chamber: Frans van Rensburg,  Kees van de Coolwijk and Louis Saaiman

The extent of the work entailed: milling out the existing surface for 120 mm;  in-situ cement stabilisation of 150 mm of the existing sub-base; replacing old/damaged kerbs; construction of an 80-mm bitumen-treated asphalt base; lifting manholes and water points; surfacing the road with 40 mm asphalt; reinstating driveways and sidewalks; upgrading stormwater, service ducts and road markings.

One of the key issues identified from the onset was proper communication to keep the affected parties informed at all times. To ensure the smooth implementation of the project, the following measures were put into place: regular placement of articles in the Hermanus Times, numerous SMS's to notify the public, electronic information signs, progress reports on Whale Coast radio and on the municipal website, letters to property owners in the affected area, pamphlets to businesses, dedicated on-site personnel to liaise with the public. Representatives from the business community formed an integral part of the project team and weekly progress meetings were held to enable them to report back, which proved to be invaluable. The professionalism and team effort displayed by all contributed to the successful and early completion of the work.

The Mayor conveyed a special thank you to all those involved in the project, particularly the contractors ZEBRA/Isidima Civils JV and V&V Consulting Engineers, who did an excellent job under challenging circumstances, and to the participating business representatives.

Mayor Nicolette Botha-Guthrie and Deputy Mayor Alderman and Pieter Scholtz proclaimed the road open by the cutting of a ribbon and the first car drove through, much to the excitement of all in attendance.

Noluthando Zweni