The Kouga Municipality in the Eastern Cape has begun work on South Africa’s first plastic road.<\/p>\n
On Monday (5 August), the municipality<\/a> <\/strong>said that it has begun installing new stormwater pipes with work expected to be completed in the next three months.<\/p>\n The idea of a plastic road was first mooted by the DA-led municipality as far back as 2016, with the project officially receiving approval at the start of 2019.<\/p>\n Horatio Hendricks, executive mayor of Kouga Municipality, said<\/a> <\/strong>the local authority had entered a partnership with Scottish company MacRebur and South African civil engineering experts to build \u2018the first plastic road\u2019 in Jeffrey\u2019s Bay.<\/p>\n “The backlog in road repairs for our region is estimated to be more than R500-million. While Kouga is strong financially, we simply do not have the rates base to deal with this backlog decisively,” Hendricks said.<\/p>\n MacRebur \u2013 which has already tested plastic roads in the United Kingdom and other countries across the globe \u2013 will head up the project.<\/p>\n They will receive assistance from Port Elizabeth-based civil engineering and construction companies SP Excel and Scribante Construction.<\/p>\n Hendricks said Kouga was looking forward to the potential benefits of the trial.<\/p>\n \u201cPoor roads have a devastating impact on communities. It\u2019s not only a danger to motorists it is also bad for the economy as it scares off potential investors and makes it difficult for existing businesses to ply their trade.\u201d<\/p>\n He said should the trial be successful, the municipality would like to see a factory being established in Kouga to produce the pellets locally.<\/p>\n The DA touted the new road in a series of tweets on Monday.<\/p>\n “Up to 1,8 million plastic bags can be used in just one kilometre of road. The road is stronger and more durable, as water, the main cause of potholes, does not penetrate it as easily as with traditional asphalt mixes.”<\/p>\n \u2014 Democratic Alliance (@Our_DA) August 5, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n