The construction of the 13.5 kilometres R72 road to Hamburg has brought relief to road users and businesses alike. The R170 million project will result in the surfacing of the gravel road and also include the construction of a new bridge and storm water drainage. Already 4km of the road has been resurfaced while another 4 km is currently under construction. The last phase is expected to be completed by the end of March 2023.
Sivuyisiwe Gangqa who works for a technology company Xerox, regularly uses the R72 between Port Alfred and East London is delighted to see the road being improved for the better. He says the upgrade of the road has made his life much easier.
“We do the network infrastructure for hospitals around the Eastern Cape. So currently I am in Grahamstown. So when I get to Grahamstown I normally use the R 72 route, joining on the R67 route, which is a quicker route for me coming from East London. They’re currently fixing the road now and there’s not a single pothole on site. And it’s quite a convenient route for me to use and yeah, I’m enjoying it,” said Gangqa.
The road works on the R72, said Gangqa, have just made his trips more enjoyable and he gets to his destination in time
“ I’m loving it.. Part of the work that I do depends on using the Eastern Cape roads. So we (need) roads which have no potholes… sometimes you need to get there on time. So yeah, the route that we use plays a crucial part in what we do,” said Gangqa.
At the same time, the work on the 53km stretch of road between Grahamstown and Port Alfred is ahead of schedule. So far just over 10km of road has been resurfaced.
