DETAILED ENGINEERING DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION SUPERVISION OF CONSTRUCTION OF TRUNK ROAD 87: PHASE 3 (GROOTMIER TO RIETFONTEIN)
Initially named special road S25 and more recently Trunk road 87, this surfaced road gives access to the outlying areas of the Northern Cape including the Mier area on the Namibian border and the Gemsbok Park. The road comprises a two lane single carriageway with a length of 258,72 km.
The road commences at Upington and leads northwards through Norokei pan and Askham and then westwards to Klein and Groot Mier before reaching the Namibian border at Rietfontein.
The rolling dunes of the ‘duineveld’ are characteristic of the harsh construction conditions experienced in this part of the Northern Cape.
The dry climate and lack of construction water necessitated the use of innovative design and construction methods. Dry compaction of Kalahari sand was carried out for fill and subgrade. Calcrete was used in the subbase, base and seal aggregates.
The project included the following Drainage Infrastructures: (i) Road surface drainage with the drainage of stormwater runoff; (ii) Subsurface drainage with the interception and disposal of groundwater flows; (iii) Erosion protection measures for the slopes.