Construction work on the R76 road between Viljoenskroon and Orkney is set to create temporary employment for 360 people.
Renovation of this stretch of interprovincial road spanning over 36 km will be done to the tune of R153 876 499 and is expected to be completed over a period of 24 months.
Maqueen Letsoha-Mathae, who is the MEC for Community Safety, Roads and Transport, officially handed over the project to the construction company offered the tender. This was done at an event in Viljoenskroon on 15 August.
Letsoha-Mathae has urged stakeholders to provide much-needed experiential training to students who have been unable to complete their studies in Civil Engineering.
She said priority should be assistance offered by the department to those in need of practical training for potential opportunities within the project.
Training and employment opportunities are made possible through the subcontracting of small contractors.
The road, which also links Steynsrus and Kroonstad, is one of the several motorists have described as life-threatening due to large potholes, and the Free State government has been blamed for the lack of infrastructure maintenance.
The provincial government is often attacked by opposition parties, and the public in general, for what is labeled its inability to take concerted efforts to maintain road infrastructure.
Premier Mxolisi Dukwana announced during his state of the province address that attention had been given to improving the appalling conditions of several roads in the province, which include the Ficksburg to Rosendal road (R70), as well as the Bothaville, Ladybrand and Bethlehem route (R26).
He said more than R1 billion had been allocated for the revival of roads in the province.
