New plan for rail
An aerial view of the
entrance to Empangeni,
showing the three
intersections which have
been included in design
changes
Dave Savides
DESIGNERS of the new John
Ross Highway have come up
with a revised plan to
accommodate businesses at
the entrance to Empangeni
Rail.
At issue were fears that the
area would be severely hit
by lack of suitable access
to and from Tanner Road and
surrounds onto the new
highway (P496).
At last week’s meeting of
the Project Liaison
Committee, comprising
numerous stakeholders and
dealing with the upgrade of
the new road presently under
construction, an acceptable
compromise appeared to have
been reached.
This after the design was
tested using dynamic
simulation, and
experimentation with a
number of configurations.
The amended design entails
three signalised
intersections with the new
highway:
• at the R102 (old Durban N2
road);
• at Old Tanner Road;
• at New Tanner Road/Impala
Street.
Robots at the three
intersections will be linked
and phased.
Full turning movements at
all intersections are
incorporated, which should
provide acceptable levels of
services to incoming and
outgoing Rail traffic.
Features of the new design
include:
• modification of the R102
slip lanes, with the
northern slip lane removed
and the southern slip lane
shortened;
• uMhlathuze municipality to
be responsible for modifying
the Old Tanner Road/New
Tanner Road intersection;
• no slip lanes at the Old
Tanner Road/P496
intersection, and limited
turning lanes;
• change to the ‘KFC’ access
from the P496;
• yellow ‘keep clear’ boxes
at east and west access;
• a centre median along the
entire stretch entering
Empangeni.
Speaking at the meeting on
behalf of Rail business
owners, Mike French praised
the Department of Transport
and the City of uMhlathuze
for their willingness to
compromise.
