Eastleigh Spruit to receive some attention
'The money being spent here could have been spent lining the channel of the spruit with concrete, but now the money has to be used fixing the mess,'
Repair work on gabions near the central Avenue Bridge will commence soon following, the erection of the relevant site camp.
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The repairs of the gabions became necessary after the heavy rains of January 17 damaged and washed away a portion of gabions on the Southern side of the bridge.
Councillor of Ward 19 Alderman Bill Rundle said the gabions were installed to improve a project started several years earlier by the city.
Although Rundle said the site camp for the repair project was established in mid-May, when the NEWS visited the bridge with the councilor on May 31 it did not appear repair work had started.
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He said with South Africa’s traditional dry season here, now is the opportune time to do repair work in the Eastleigh Spruit.
Rundle said that once started, the gabions will be repaired and remediated.
When the NEWS first reported on the storm-damaged gabions in March, Rundle said the City of Ekurhuleni started a project in 2019 to improve the Central Avenue Bridge and the area around it.
At the time Rundle and business owners in the area questioned the quality of work of the gabions installation.
In response to the quality of work being questioned COE spokesperson Zweli Dlamini said, in March, heavy rainfall resulted in the rise of water levels in the channel.
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He said at its highest, the water level rose above the gabion erosion protection measures, causing damage to the gabions and causing it to collapse.
Providing background Rundle said the project which costs R8m had concrete embankments installed on either side of the bridge to reduce soil erosion around it and allow for an easier flow of water underneath it.
Rundle said an additional R1.8m was spent improving the project on the southern side of the bridge in the form of gabions.
“They should have been working by now to make sure that the project is an ongoing project when it enters the new financial year.”
Rundle said the project which started this financial year requires work to commence to utilise some of the funds.
“If it goes into the new financial year it becomes a multiyear project, and the money is not lost – it has already been allocated and provided.”
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Rundle said between R4m and R6m was allocated for the remainder of Eastleigh for the new financial year.
Although the project will assist the flow of water in the spruit Rundle believes the money spent repairing the gabions could have been better spent.
“The money being spent here could have for lining the channel of the spruit with concrete, but now the money has to be used fixing the mess here.”
A request for comment was sent to CoE on June 1,requesting comment by June 3 at 13:30.
At the time of going to print no comment was received.
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