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COPYRIGHT AND CITATION CONSIDERATIONS FOR THIS THESIS/ DISSERTATION o Attribution — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use. o NonCommercial — You may not use the material for commercial purposes. o ShareAlike — If you remix, transform, or build upon the material, you must distribute your contributions under the same license as the original. How to cite this thesis Surname, Initial(s). (2012) Title of the thesis or dissertation. PhD. (Chemistry)/ M.Sc. (Physics)/ M.A. (Philosophy)/M.Com. (Finance) etc. [Unpublished]: University of Johannesburg. Retrieved from: https://ujcontent.uj.ac.za/vital/access/manager/Index?site_name=Research%20Output (Accessed: Date). How sustainable is road transport in Gauteng, South Africa? An analysis of the R59 from the perspective of traffic volumes and vehicle loading. Dr Yvette Michelle Terblans Department of Geography, Environmental Management and Energy Studies Faculty of Science University of Johannesburg Mini-dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment for the degree Masters of Science in Environmental Management Supervisor: Mrs Tracey J. McKay Co-Supervisor: Dr June Meeuwis June 2015 ANTI-PLAGIARISM DECLARATION University of Johannesburg Department of Geography, Environmental Management & Energy Studies Title: Dr Full name: Yvette Michelle Terblans Student number: 201135524 Course: Mini dissertation MSc in Environmental Management 1. I understand what plagiarism is and am aware of the University’s policy in this regard. 2. I know that plagiarism is wrong. Plagiarism is to present someone else’s ideas as my own. I know that I would plagiarise if I do not give credit to my sources, or if I lift sentences or paragraphs from a book, article or internet source without proper citation. Even if I only change the wording slightly, I still plagiarise when using someone else’s words without proper citation. I have written my own sentences and paragraphs throughout my essay and I have credited all ideas I have gained from other people’s work. 3. Where material written by other people has been used (either from a printed source or from the internet), this has been carefully acknowledged and referenced. I have used the Harvard convention for citation and referencing. Every significant contribution to and quotation in this essay from the work of other people has been acknowledged through citation and reference. 4. I declare that this assignment is my own original work. 5. I have not allowed, and will not allow, anyone to copy my work with the intention of passing it off as his or her own work. ………………………… ……………………… Signature Date: June 2015………………….. ii Acknowledgements I hereby would like to express my gratitude to the following people: Mrs Tracey McKay my supervisor for her guidance, patience and enthusiasm during this study. Gautrans and Mr Pierre van Heerden from Gautrans, for making the data used in this study available to me. Dr Michelle Lawton for her assistance in taking, the photographs of pavement damage of the R59, as well as her assistance in reading of the dissertation. iii Abstract The transport of freight or goods by truck (heavy vehicles) is a worldwide phenomenon. In South Africa an increase in the number of heavy vehicles, the number of axles the trucks have, as well as, an increase in the mass of goods carried by trucks has taken place. During the 1930’s until the 1980’s, the transport of freight by government owned railways was favoured over road freight transport, until transport deregulation started in the 1980’s. Deregulation focussed only on the technical and safety aspects of trucking, ignoring critical issues such the impact of trucking on freight costs; road infrastructure and negative environmental impacts. Excessive growth of road transport begs the question: how sustainable is road transport in South Africa? This study sought to determine this by undertaking an in-depth study of one important road in Gauteng, namely the R59, which links Vanderbijlpark/Vereeniging, Meyersdal, Alberton and Johannesburg. The study documents the current traffic characteristics and road usage for the R59 for the years 2004 - 2013, creating, for the first time, a traffic baseline data against which future increases or impacts can be measured. The study made use of data supplied by Gautrans and was collected by seven traffic counting stations along the Gauteng stretch of road. Six of these are secondary stations (which are operational for one week only during a year), and one is a permanent station (operated all year). The study posits that the pavement of this road is an asphalt mix, with an original design life of 20 years. The road was partly rehabilitated and resurfaced in 1996 – 1997 and in 2005 – 2006. The study shows a steady increase in traffic volumes overtime with some vehicles consistently speeding. There is a surprisingly large urban commute of people travelling from Vanderbijlpark/Vereeniging north to work and back each day. The proposed future tolling of the route will have a serious negative impact on these commuters. The R59 is also a key trucking route, carrying a significant number of long heavy trucks, and overloading is a chronic problem. This overloading is leading to visible pavement damage, in the form of cracking, formation of potholes and bleeding. The study demonstrates that the road was under-designed for the current traffic type; it is under-maintained and under-managed. The study calls for better and more consistent rehabilitation, alongside active traffic management - controlling overloading by having a manned weighbridge and imposing hefty fines on those breaking the law - if the road is to be sustainably managed into the future. DECLARATION iv I declare that “How sustainable is road transport in Gauteng, South Africa? An analysis of the R59 from the perspective of traffic volumes and vehicle loading” has not been submitted for any degree or examination at any other university, and that all sources I have used or quoted have been indicated and acknowledged by completed references. I therefore declare that I have endeavored to avoid plagiarism and I have made all possible effort to present ideas and material in my own words. Yvette Michelle Terblans Signed Date: June 2015 Table of Contents Abbreviations ........................................................................................................................... 1 v Definitions 3 List of Figures ........................................................................................................................... 9 List of Tables .......................................................................................................................... 11 Chapter 1: Introduction ........................................................................................................ 12 1.1. Introduction ............................................................................................................... 12 1.2. Background ............................................................................................................... 12 1.3. The R59 freeway ....................................................................................................... 13 1.4. R59 development corridor ......................................................................................... 14 1.5. Purpose and rationale of this study ........................................................................... 16 1.6. Research Aims........................................................................................................... 17 1.7. Research questions .................................................................................................... 18 1.8. Methodology ............................................................................................................. 18 1.8.1 Traffic counting on roads ............................................................................... 20 1.8.2. Road network classification ........................................................................... 21 1.8.3. Determining of overloading ........................................................................... 22 1.8.3.1. Pavement loading ........................................................................................... 22 1.8.3.2. Legal mass ...................................................................................................... 23 1.9. Shortcomings of the study ......................................................................................... 24 1.10. Chapter Outline ......................................................................................................... 25 1.11. Conclusion ................................................................................................................ 25 Chapter 2: Road freight transport and sustainability – An international perspective . 27 2.1. Introduction ............................................................................................................... 27 2.2. Sustainability ............................................................................................................. 27 2.3. Sustainable Development .......................................................................................... 27 2.4. Sustainable cities ......................................................................................................

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