At the M2 Motorway Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony held on Thursday, 31 October 2019 the Executive Mayor, Councillor Herman Mashaba, praised the full team that had worked since the February closure to complete the rehabilitation project on time in a most collaborative, dedicated and professional manner. He noted that this was a major project for the Joburg Roads Agency (JRA) in view of the critical contribution that this route plays in the Johannesburg and Gauteng economy. He further noted that over the next three years there will be a further R1.2 billion investment in road infrastructure.

His Excellency Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi, in his message of support, called for a cessation of petty politics and the need for political parties to work collaboratively to address infrastructural investment and development to counter the drastic situation the South African economy is currently in. He noted this project and its success to be a good example of collaboration and cooperation between political parties, officials and the construction industry. The call for political party cooperation was reinforced by Premier David Makhura in his message of support in which he also emphasised the importance of everyone working together to attract and secure development and investment in Gauteng.

The eight-month rehabilitation project addressed bridge and structural failures of the M2 Motorway at Selby and Kazerne. The initial construction was done in the early 1960s. Due to the lack of water protection, which was not recognised as being important in those days, the structures had been weakened by “concrete cancer”. The JRA team managed to track down an engineer who had worked on the initial construction who provided great advice and insight.

The project was completed on time and slightly over budget. A total amount of R155 million was spent on the structures with R126 million at Selby and R29 million at Kazerne giving them a further 50 years of life. A further R34 million was spent on 4 km on resurfacing which should not need doing for another 5-8 years.

Budget has been provided for the next three financial years for further work and construction to take place on the motorway.

The M2 Motorway through route will open at 05:00 on Monday 4 November with the various on-and-off ramps being opened through the day providing a huge release of traffic pressure and tension which resulted from its overnight closure in the interests of the safety and security of the Johannesburg citizens.