Haven't seen anything online, but was on the front page of the Argus yesterday.
The first tunnel is the northern bore of the Hugenot Tunnel on the N1. They actually drilled two tunnels back in the day, but only fitted out the southern one for traffic-carrying purposes. Traffic volumes have now risen to the point where the northern bore now also needs to be lined with concrete and fitted out to carry traffic. The end result will be two tunnels of two lanes each, with each tunnel carrying traffic in different directions. This is expected to be completed within the next 4 years.
The second tunnel will be on the N2 at Sir Lowry's Pass. Traffic volumes are expected to rise where the pass will need to be upgraded; the problem here is that parts of the pass consist of a suspended bridge jutting out of the mountain - it's therefore impossible to widen it any further, hence the tunnel plans. When built, the tunnel will be one-way only, carrying traffic away from Somerset West, while the existing pass would then cater for traffic heading towards Somerset West and Cape Town. This is only expected to be built in around 15-20 years.
Also, the N2 will finally not pass through Somerset West (yay!), but will pass under it instead - SANRAL has plans for a "cut and cover" tunnel beneath the Helderzicht suburb. It would start roughly where the freeway currently terminates, and end on the Strand side of the N2/Victoria Road traffic lights.
These tunnels would likely be tolled; I know the Western Cape provincial government is dead against it but I don't know if they're going to win this one (case in point: the way in which the toll plaza at Durban's King Shaka International Airport was built). The current plans for toll plaza locations are:
- N1: between the Engen 1-Stop and the Stellenbosch exit.
- N2: between Spine Road and Baden Powell Drive. (This one was originally slated to be located between Mew Road and the R300 interchange, but has been moved closer to Somerset West to enable the Khayelitsha folks to travel on the N2 without having to pass through a toll plaza.)
- N2: foot of Sir Lowry's Pass
- N2: Botrivier, at the eastern side of the Houwhoek Pass.
Hope this helps.
