The Gauteng freeway improvement project will lead to enhanced economic growth, Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe said on Tuesday (8 April).<\/p>\n
“Through enhanced traffic flow and accessibility, the project will contribute significantly to economic growth,” he said.<\/p>\n
Efforts to ease congestion on Gauteng’s freeways had to be welcomed.<\/p>\n
“Transport is the backbone of the South African economy and there is a need for the country to improve its roads in order to meet the growing demands of the economy,” Motlanthe said.<\/p>\n
He was speaking during the official opening of SA National Roads Agency Limited’s (Sanral’s) central operations centre in Pretoria.<\/p>\n
The centre would be responsible for monitoring freeways, responding to accidents, and providing medical assistance and towing services.<\/p>\n
High definition cameras were used to monitor tolled roads in the province.<\/p>\n
Motlanthe said government was aware of the system problems around e-tolls.<\/p>\n
“I am assured Sanral is doing everything possible to resolve these problems,” he said.<\/p>\n
More than 1.2 million e-tags had been purchased.<\/p>\n
Transport Minister Dipuo Peters said growth and development required a continuous effort to improve infrastructure.<\/p>\n
“It is only through projects such as the Gauteng freeway improvement project that we can progress and prosper.<\/p>\n
“The toll funding option allows us to bring projects to fruition that would otherwise not have been possible, had we solely relied on money from [the] fiscus,” Peters said.<\/p>\n
E-tolls not only a middle class problem<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n E-tolls pushing consumers over the edge<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n