Climate-ready road networks and digitisation is Africa’s route forward, say CSIR researchers
Road authorities in Namibia and Lesotho are digitising their operations and modernising road and bridge infrastructure using climate-resilitient technologies. With support from the CSIR, they are showing how digitisation or roads designed with the climate in mind can strengthen road safety, legal compliance and economic growth.
“If you have data in a digital format and available online, it is far more accessible to everybody and people can quickly find out what the situation is with a specific road,” says Michael Roux, a civil engineer at the CSIR. “You can, for instance, get the traffic counts on a specific road, which is quite useful if you start doing maintenance or construction or managing a network.”
Roux, whose expertise lies in road asset management, was part of the CSIR team that developed a bridge management system adopted by the Namibian Roads Authority (NRA) over 20 years ago. “We still update and maintain the system, called STRUMAN and when Namibia gets new condition data in, we help with analysing the condition of its bridges and prepare priority lists of bridges that need to be repaired or maintained.”
Researchers at the CSIR Transport Safety Laboratory are also currently building a long-term collaboration model with the NRA and the University of Namibia to strengthen evidence-based road safety solutions. The Pretoria-based laboratory features a driving simulator and a test vehicle, which help researchers design real-world experiments to test driver assistance technologies, road restraints, weather conditions and the impact of accidents on passengers, drivers and bystanders. Real-world data, in turn, feeds back into simulations, which can be used to design better driving regulations, technologies, manufacturing standards and driver training programmes and to recreate accident scenes for legal or insurance claims.
CSIR road safety expert Busisiwe Marole is leading discussions with Namibian partners on transport data partnerships, driver behaviour studies, advanced risk modelling, location-based crash risk mapping and targeted interventions. They are also in talks about policy development and drafting manuals and guidelines to support smart and secure transport safety frameworks in Namibia.
“By sharing transport data, we gain a more comprehensive understanding of crash patterns, traffic flow, driver attention, gaze behaviour and overall transport behaviour through naturalistic driving and eye-tracking studies,” says Marole. “These insights can inform awareness campaigns aimed at reducing risky driving habits, while also supporting targeted interventions for vulnerable road users such as motorcyclists and pedestrians and for high-risk environments including school zones and highways. In addition, Geographic Information Systems-enabled crash risk mapping allows us to identify accident hotspots and develop smarter, safer road networks, while crash simulations help us better understand the causes, dynamics and contributing factors associated with road accidents.”
The CSIR Transport Safety Laboratory features a driving simulator (left) and a test vehicle (right), which help researchers design real-world experiments to test driver assistance technologies, road restraints, weather conditions and the impact of accidents on passengers, drivers and bystanders. Real-world data, in turn, feeds back into simulations, which can be used to design better driving regulations, technologies, manufacturing standards and driver training programmes, and to recreate accident scenes for legal or insurance claims.
Namibia has also recently implemented the updated CSIR-developed digital permit system for vehicles carrying abnormal loads, like harvesters, industrial machines or power station equipment. These abnormal vehicles put extra stress on the pavement layers of roads, so the system calculates the fee required for a particular weight on a particular route, which is then used to fund road maintenance.
The automated system also makes it easier for traffic law enforcement officials to ensure compliance because vehicles must be registered on the system and have a permit to pass through. It therefore promotes transparency and accountability.
“Systems that are digitised and integrated can speak to each other, which eliminates the room for corruption and problems caused by the manual issuing of permits,” says Trevor Nkuna, a CSIR technologist involved in developing the system.
Nkuna and Roux say that the algorithms behind the fee calculations are based on the CSIR’s precise understanding of how roads are designed, the different pavement layers and the properties of the materials used during construction. This understanding and deep knowledge of road engineering have been built over 30 years of research, development and innovation in the asset management research team, which is led by Khangwelo Muronga.
Muronga says abnormal load transportation contributes greatly to the economic development of Southern African Development Community (SADC) regions. For instance, South Africa’s national power utility, Eskom, which has a power purchase agreement with Namibia, needs to transport large equipment from South Africa to Namibia. There are also many instances of mining machinery being delivered to other parts of Africa from South Africa.
“This means all of us benefit as SADC countries,” he says. “We are not just developing these technologies for ourselves but also for our neighbours.”
Roux adds that the CSIR holds a lot of locally relevant knowledge and endeavours to transfer knowledge of the systems and the latest developments in road engineering to operators and officials in neighbouring countries. “We understand the local geology and the geotechnical aspects, often far better than consultants from outside the continent.”
In Lesotho, Roux’s team is busy updating 10 volumes of the Lesotho Design Standards for Roads and Bridges and, in the process, is including climate-resilient road and bridge construction aspects for the local context.
“The CSIR has done quite a bit of work in the past on the impact of climate change on roads and stormwater systems,” he says. “Some of Lesotho’s roads are in fairly good shape, but there are certain sections that need to be upgraded and they have long sections of roads that are still gravel, especially in the mountainous areas of the country.”
The idea is to update the manuals compiled in the 1990s with the latest available technologies for long-term quality standards. This includes modern bridge design codes for safety and the different material properties needed for each layer of a road, as well as the asphalt surface layers and seals.
“Better road conditions and fit-for-purpose bridges mean that the transport of goods on their network will be easier and faster, with less wear and tear on vehicles,” he says. “All of this will lead to direct economic benefits.”
With growing trade and infrastructure projects moving more equipment across the continent’s borders, Roux, Marole, Nkuna and Muronga agree that road safety and infrastructure protection are shared challenges that no one country can solve alone. They say a wise and scientific approach, based on local needs and knowledge, will be needed to ensure that roads and transport networks are safe, online and sustainable.
Published 25 May 2026