SMEC South Africa awarded Huguenot Tunnel project

SMEC South Africa has been appointed by South African National Roads Agency Limited (SANRAL) to provide consulting engineering services for the commissioning of the Huguenot Tunnel North Bore and the upgrading of the Huguenot Tunnel South Bore.

SMEC South Africa has been appointed by South African National Roads Agency Limited (SANRAL) to provide consulting engineering services for the commissioning of the Huguenot Tunnel North Bore and the upgrading of the Huguenot Tunnel South Bore.

SMEC South Africa Regional Manager, Western Cape, and Functional General Manager, Roads and Highways, Jaco Engelbrecht says: “We feel honoured to have been awarded this contract by SANRAL. The Huguenot Tunnel is one of South Africa’s most iconic structures and one that remains close to our hearts at SMEC, having previously provided structural design and geotechnical services in the early 1980s. We look forward to collaborating with SANRAL to deliver a safe, aesthetically pleasing, environmentally sensitive and modern road tunnel.”

Approaching the entrance to the Huguenot tunnel

The 4km tunnel, which is located on the N1 freeway (Section 1) approximately 60km north-east of Cape Town in the Western Cape Province, is a tolled tunnel that carries the freeway through the Du Toitskloof mountains that separate Paarl from Worcester. The tunnel’s supporting infrastructure includes a toll plaza, a main control centre building and tunnel portal buildings that contain extensive electrical, electronic and mechanical systems required to manage and operate the tunnel and toll plaza.

SMEC South Africa’s scope of work for the North Bore and South Bore includes preliminary design, detailed design, procurement and construction supervision. The design and procurement phase will take place over a period of 15 months, while construction is set to take 55 months to complete.

Read more in our media release.