Rea Vaya to connect inner city, Alexandra, Sandton

23 April 2014 - 13:39 By LEHLOHONOLO TAU
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A Rea Vaya bus. File picture
A Rea Vaya bus. File picture
Image: Antonio Muchave

More than a billion rand has been budgeted for the extension of Bus Rapid Transit system (BRT) Rea Vaya which will connect the Inner City to Alexandra and Sandton.

However the project is  is behind schedule as it should have started in January already.

The City’s executive mayor Parks Tau yesterday officially launched the start of the construction for Rea Vaya Phase 1c.

He said the construction of this phase will include a new bridge over the M1 freeway which connects  the southern areas (including Booysens, Eldorado Park and Soweto) with the city centre and extends further north to Sandton.

 “We have already pioneered the first Bus Rapid Transit system when we launched Rea Vaya. This has now become the model for similar developments in other cities. Today we are continuing taking the city forward by introducing this new phase with an aim of changing the urban structure of Johannesburg and eradicate the legacy of apartheid spatial planning,” said Tau.

In the State of the City address last year, the Mayor introduced the Corridors of Freedom Concept which he said was designed to bridge the economic and social divide which resulted from apartheid planning. 

Member of the Mayoral committee in the DA for transport Nico De Jager said to his understanding, the process got delayed because the city did not start the consultation processes with the construction companies soon enough and workers also had to be put in place.

Member of the Mayoral committee in the DA for transport Nico De Jager said said to his understanding, the process got delayed because the city did not start the consultation processes with the construction companies soon enough and workers also had to be put in place.

"But I haven’t really had a meeting with them to hear their side of the story regarding the delay,” De Jager said.

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