Upgraded N14 freeway officially opened

Gauteng MEC for Roads and Transport Ismail Vadi on Thursday officially opened an upgraded portion of the N14 freeway between Krugersdorp and Diepsloot.

Phase 1 of the R306 million project entailed the rehabilitation of 20km of the dual carriageway starting from Hendrik Potgieter Drive and extending up to Diepsloot near Centurion.

“We have basically given a new lease of life to a very busy freeway and there will be no toll fees,” said MEC Vadi.

He expressed satisfaction that the 18-month long project, which was launched in July 2015 together with Gauteng Premier David Makhura, was completed on time and within budget.

The N14 is a high traffic volume freeway that was under severe stress. It had a traffic growth rate of 3.2 percent annually.

The road had degraded over the years and needed urgent rehabilitation.

“This project has completely repaired 20kms of N14 and given it a new design life of 20 years. It provided employment and skills development training during construction to over 300 local employees; enabled economic empowerment of local contractors and improved the road safety features on the freeway,” MEC Vadi added.

The N14 is a major provincial arterial road from the southern and western regions of Gauteng to the north and is used daily for workplace travelling and freight traffic. It serves as an economic link to the Western corridor of the province.

MEC Vadi pointed out that the N14 links Lanseria Airport, the Cradle of Humankind and North West province and in future will play an important role in kick-starting the development of a new city around Lanseria airport.  

The MEC thanked motorists for their patience during the construction period and announced Phase 2 of the N14 upgrade will be launched in 2017