One of these roads includes the Cape Flats Freeway (R300) extension from Prince George to Vanguard Drive. This 8km addition of the existing freeway was designed to implement the road in phases. “It could initially be built as a single carriageway road and as years go by it could then progress to a dual carriageway and eventually a freeway,” Philip explains.
“The main challenge in the design was to minimise the impact of the freeway through the Grassy Park and Philippi Horticultural Area. The design encom-passed the crossing of two canals, three interchanges, six overpasses, an agri-cultural underpass and a pedestrian bridge,” says Philip as he explains that this section of the freeway formed part of the proposed R300 Toll Road.

During the past few months, Philip has been hard at work fine-tuning the design to satisfy the requirements of the Penway Consortium. “The route through the horticultural area is not the shortest route, but it is one that all parties, particularly the farmers association, have accepted as the preferred route through the area”.

“This short section of road is expected to cost in the region of R60m for a single carriageway arterial and approximately R150m if the freeway is built from the start,” Philip says, adding that the nine bridges along the route have contributed largely to the cost of the project.

Calling up an aerial view of the design on his computer, Philip points out that he is able to view the entire working platform with the use of Civil Designer. “Everything is integrated and with the aerial view you are able to see the bigger picture”.

A new and improved access to Hout Bay in the pipeline
In another conceptual design, Philip works on drawings for a new arterial road from Constantia Nek circle into Hout Bay. “The road will follow the pipe track for a section of the way down to Hout Bay and will require extensive filling and cutting work”.

“The route will eventually join the existing Main Road near Hughenden Street, where a proposed new traffic circle will be built. We plan to add more of these circles to facilitate traffic movement in the area. It is unlikely that the traffic on Main Road will be affected during construction, as the new road will follow a completely different route. We are however unsure when the project will start,” says Philip.

Although the existing road will remain in place to provide access to the houses and estates along the route, the new road will be aimed at providing visitors with better access to the popular tourist village.
 

Rural development and township design
Current Jeffares & Green activities in rural areas include the upgrade of a number of gravel roads to black top roads, while township developments consist of the completion of phase three of the bulk road design that provides access into the informal housing settlement, Wallacedene.

Other work for the Provincial Administration that was recently undertaken includes the conceptual and partial preliminary design of the Potsdam Interchange on the N7, as well as a stretch of road between Elands Bay and Lamberts Bay. “The road is being designed as a class 3 rural road on the current alignment of the existing gravel road,” explains Philip.

Beta testing
Currently one of the Civil Designer users who function as Beta testers for Knowledge Base, Philip says that he finds it beneficial to see the software before it is released. “The benefit of being a Beta tester is that you get to know the program before it is issued and can provide input on facilities or functions within the new software”.

“We have set up an internal user group for Civil Designer and AllyCAD. In this way users in the company have a resource available to assist them with any problems that they may encounter during design.”