R510: The meeting is over. When does the work begin?

Municipal and SANRAL representatives met on 23 September 2026 to discuss the R510 project’s next steps.

Platinum Bushvelder newspaper | Thabazimbi – For motorists who use the R510 between Northam and Thabazimbi, news that the long-delayed road project is moving forward will be welcome. The urgent question is when work on the road will begin.

On Wednesday, 23 September 2026, the South African National Roads Agency (SANRAL) met with Thabazimbi Local Municipality to discuss the project’s status, upcoming activities and the way forward. The municipality said the project was set to resume and called for continued coordination so that residents would be kept informed.

The concerns are immediate. Residents have reported potholes, missing road shoulders and inadequate signage on the unfinished route.

Thaba Fire and Rescue recorded 38 crashes between 1 July and 31 August 2025, including a head-on collision on 31 August in which two people died. On 22 January 2026, a driver died in another head-on collision on the R510, this time with a bus carrying schoolchildren. These reports confirm at least three deaths in the period from 1 July 2025 to 22 January 2026; they do not establish a total death toll for the road. Government statistics are not available.

More recent incidents underline the urgency: a driver died in a fiery head-on collision on the R510 near the Crocodile Bridge on 25 September 2026, and a pedestrian was killed on the same road opposite Thaba Trans in the early hours of 26 September. Five occupants of the other vehicle in the head-on collision, including two children, were taken to hospital, while a second pedestrian sustained moderate injuries.

SANRAL announced in August that it expected construction to begin in October 2026, following mobilisation during August and September, with completion anticipated by 30 November 2027. Its published plans cover the R510 from the North West–Limpopo border through Northam to Bierspruit.

The 23 September meeting brought together municipal representatives, including EXCO member cllr Tokkie Swanepoel and technical services director Stephen Mogapi, and a SANRAL delegation led by Limpopo provincial head Madoda Mthembu. Representatives of Blueprint and Lebaka Construction also attended.

Platinum Bushvelder will continue monitoring the project.