Sky circle on its way to Hanover Park, first of its kind in South Africa

Cape Town - The City of Cape Town will soon commence with the construction of a free-standing elevated traffic circle, the first of its kind in South Africa, at the intersection of Govan Mbeki Road (M9) and Jan Smuts Drive (M17) in Hanover Park.

The project forms part of the roll-out of the MyCiTi service to the metro-south-east with construction of the sky circle set to be completed in about four years.

Mayco member for urban mobility Rob Quintas said the benefits of the elevated traffic circle and other upgrades include that travelling times for MyCiTi commuters will be shorter, congestion will be eased and pedestrians and cyclists will have dedicated lanes, separated from the road.

The project will commence on July 7, if all goes as planned, but residents will see major construction activity on site only about three months later as it takes time to set up the work area.

“About R15 million will be spent on temporary work opportunities for residents who are registered on the local job seekers database, as well as R15m for local subcontractors to provide goods and services to the main contractor for this project,” Quintas said.

The new elevated traffic circle can be described as a hollow circle in the sky, letting in light to the intersection below.

The traffic circle will be about 6.2m above the ground and will be for the exclusive use of the MyCiTi buses, once complete.

“The free-standing elevated circle will be the first in South Africa, demonstrating civil engineering at its best, to the benefit of all road users. A visual impact assessment formed part of the design and approval process. Given that the elevated traffic circle is hollow, there will be sufficient light reaching the ground level.”

By separating the MyCiTi buses from general traffic, the City said it will ensure the service operates optimally between Mitchells Plain and Khayelitsha and Wynberg and Claremont without being delayed by the traffic or congestion at the ground level of the intersection.

“The proposed Hanover Park closed median station is the closest MyCiTi station to this intersection and will serve commuters along the trunk route to operate along Govan Mbeki Road. The station will be built at a later stage, closer to the implementation date of the service,” Quintas said.

Included in the project are interventions to improve traffic flow at the intersection with dedicated turning lanes; improved traffic signals; and improved signalisation or sequencing.

Existing sewer, water and stormwater infrastructure within the road reserve will be relocated and upgraded.

Cape Times