Reconstruction of Main Road 191, Groot Drakenstein

SAICE Award: 1996-1997 Award of the Century for Technical Excellence in Civil Engineering (Environmental Division)
Bob Laburn Award: 1997 Environmental Awareness in Civil Engineering

Client: Provincial Administration of the Western Cape, Chief Directorate of Transport
Contractor: Savage & Lovemore West Cape
Environmental consultants: Knight Hall Hendry & Associates
Landscape Architects: Bernard Oberholzer Landscape Architects

This project sought both to preserve the historic cultural landscape of the Cape wine farms created by the French Huguenots and to involve the local community in its planning and implementation.

Construction, which began in July 1995, involved the erection of two bridges across the Berg and Dwars Rivers and the reconstruction of 7,1 km of existing road. Redundant sections of the old road, the old Dwars River bridge and unsightly portions of the old Berg River bridge, which had been washed away by floods in 1991, were removed.

The client, the Provincial Administration of the Western Cape, Chief Directorate of Transport, added significant funds to preserve the cultural heritage and natural environment of this tourist route into the Franschhoek Valley. Over 1 500 trees and 5 000 shrubs were planted.