UPDATE: Natural erosion causes slab collapse on retainer wall

The mayor thanked all stakeholders involved for the around-the-clock efforts put in to ensure the collapsed slab damage was under control.

December 27, 2018

Rivelle Govindsamy 2 minutes read

Various departments are involved in finding a solution to the retainer wall slab collapse

Natural erosion was cited as the cause for the slab collapse on the retainer wall situated on the lake in the Benoni CBD on the corner of Bunyan Street and the N12 onramp.

This was according to EMM mayor, Mzwandile Masina who visited the site earlier today (December 27).

The mayor said engineers and various stakeholders were engaged to find a permanent solution.

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Metro inspecting partial dam wall collapse in the Benoni CBD

During the media briefing, Masina stated that it would take up to four months to permanently repair the slab as engineers would need to assess the wall from the inside out – taking any further erosions occurring inside the wall into consideration.

Masina said radar technology will be used by engineers to detect any further damage to the wall before repairs can commence.

He added that due to the festive season it was a challenge to get all the relevant parties to fix the retainer wall on site but reassured the public that the teams were working 24/7 to ensure a speedy resolution.

The system to divert water away from the wall, while working effectively according to Disaster Management Emergency Services (DEMS) district manager and media liaison William Ntladi, has resulted in road closures in the area affecting Bunyan and Tom Jones streets as well as the N12 onramp.

Masina said the roads would be closed until Saturday to accommodate for decreasing water levels to ensure engineers would be able to effectively assess the damage.

He could not, however, determine how long Tom Jones and Bunyan streets would be closed for if rains affected the progress of the operation.

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UPDATE: Metro inspecting partial dam wall collapse in the Benoni CBD

For the time being, the water is being diverted to the lake near Tom Jones Street.

“Over the next three weeks the stakeholders involved will be working on a three phase system to resolve the challenge in this particular dam,” said Masina.

“Siphons will be put in place to do the same job as the water-relaying system but will ensure the roads will be open again.

“Our engineers will be working tirelessly to fix the part that has been damaged.

“We are quite confident that we have assembled a high power team to manage the situation.”

When asked about the costs involved in the operation as well as the effectiveness of routine maintenance of dam walls, the mayor stated that the three phase plan that includes the repair would be a costly exercise and added that maintenance does not come without its challenges.

“We will meet to assess how much this exercise would cost over the short, medium and long terms of the project but an official statement with the costs will be released in the next day or two,” he said.

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[WATCH] Road closures in the CBD due to lake retainer wall collapse expected to continue until the weekend

During the briefing Masina also mentioned that the public pools agenda over the festive season would be revised for public consideration as the pools are closed over this year’s festive season.