Construction on Rea Vaya’s Phase 1C has expanded into Joburg’s financial heartland, and along with a range of associated developments is set to bring the Sandton CBD into quicker, easier reach for residents of Alexandra and other parts of the city.
Rea Vaya continues to expand, this time on to Katherine Street in Sandton, driven by the Johannesburg Development Agency’s (JDA’s) vision of people-friendly, transport-orientated development for the city.
Johannesburg’s Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system is already responsible for transporting thousands of passengers on a daily basis. With the extension of Rea Vaya into Sandton, the bus service will be able to add thousands more onto its daily schedule.
Construction along Katherine Street, between the Sandspruit Bridge and West Street, is currently well under way, with the roads on both sides expanded.
The Katherine Street development forms part of Rea Vaya Phase 1C, which will comprise 16 kilometres of Rea Vaya lanes and 10 new stations running along Louis Botha Avenue and into Katherine Street. Construction on Phase 1C began in July and is scheduled for completion by the end of March 2015.
CORRIDORS OF FREEDOM
Rea Vaya is a key component of the City of Johannesburg’s Corridors of Freedom project, a city-wide development that aims to “restitch” Joburg, promoting social inclusion and sustainable growth by bringing residents closer to work and leisure opportunities.
Besides instituting a safe, convenient, efficient and affordable public transport system, the Corridors of Freedom project aims to improve the city’s air quality by reducing the need for private transport, in turn helping to reduce the number of motor vehicles on Johannesburg’s roads.
Rea Vaya’s buses, which run on low-sulphur diesel and incorporate advanced pollution reduction technology, are the cleanest on the continent.
The Corridors of Freedom project requires massive infrastructure changes in the city, which the JDA is responsible for overseeing, and is fully in line with Joburg 2040, the City of Johannesburg’s long-term growth and development strategy.
Further developments along the Louis Botha Avenue-Katherine Street corridor will include:
- A state-of-the-art underground public transport interchange at Wynberg Bridge;
- 5.2 kilometres of walking and cycling lanes;
- A bridge over the M1 to accommodate the more than 10 000 people walking between Alexandra and the Sandton CBD every day;
- A second bridge for dedicated Rea Vaya bus lanes in Marlboro;
- A new transport system in the Sandton CBD that incorporates the Gautrain station, pedestrians and cyclists; and
- A new bus depot in the inner city, and one in Alexandra.