SSI has gained depths of experience across a broad spectrum of road designs, including rural access roads with gravel or various types of surface material, where designs incorporate labour enhanced construction methods and the empowerment of small local contractors. Our scope of work also embraces road requirements from minor municipal streets to complex major freeways, major toll concession freeways and major mine haul and industrial roads. We involve our clients extensively in the conceptualisation and planning of a road undertaking and recognise the need to liaise with associated government authorities from the outset. We initiate specialist investigations, where appropriate and conduct studies to assess the sociological, environmental, traffic engineering, geotechnical, hydrological and structural factors inherent in the project.
PROJECTS
Development of the N4 Platinum toll road between Pretoria and the Lobatse border post, Botswana, for the Platinum Joint Venture
As the design engineers to the concessionaire, SSI provided a range of services relevant to the Phase 1 upgrade obligations, involving traffic and axle load studies and analysis, environmental mitigation planning, hydrological studies and drainage designs, geometric designs, materials investigations, pavement rehabilitation designs, preparation of construction plans, preparation of construction specifications and compliance monitoring and auditing. . A project priority was the construction of a 30km section of new dual carriageway standard road from Pretoria to Brits. Discrete sections of the remainder of the road were also subjected to improvements to achieve pre-determined service levels and standards. This corridor is designated a national route at inter-regional as well as intra-regional level, linking the highly industrialised region of Gauteng with the mineral and agricultural areas of North West province and providing an important transport corridor to the Atlantic seaboard and neighbouring countries such as the DRC and Zambia
Contact:
Pieter van Niekerk
Group Sector Manager: Transport Sector
+27 (0)11 798 6000 pietervn@ssi.co.za
Roads biography
Pieter van Niekerk is a Professional Engineer who graduated with an M.Eng. Specialising in pavement engineering, Pieter has 21 years’ post graduate experience in highways and materials in southern Africa, the UK and the Middle East. He has a sound knowledge of international materials testing standards and specifications, including those in use in southern Africa, while his international experience includes various pavement design and rehabilitation projects in Libya, Somalia, Uganda, Malawi, Namibia, Mozambique, Dubai, South Africa, Botswana and Pakistan. Pieter’s specialist knowledge includes the determination of structural capacities and strengthening evaluation of airport and road pavements using conventional testing methods, non-destructive testing (FWD & DCP), mechanistic and general rehabilitation design and analysis techniques. He has work with donor agencies such as USAID, International Development Agency (IDA), African Development Bank (ADB), Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA), Islamic Development Bank (IDB), Department for International Development UK (DfID), French Development Agency (AFD), Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA) and the European Union. He is currently the Group Sector Manager in SSI’s Transport Sector.
