UPDATE: Relief for pedestrians as N17 bridge is finally being repaired
The damaged section on the bridge’s north side was reported to Sanral in April 2022, but the processes to repair it were mired in delays in appointing a contractor.
Following years of complaints about the risk posed by the pedestrian bridge across the N17 in Van Dyk Park, construction work has finally begun to repair the bridge.
While Sanral has not yet responded to the Boksburg Advertiser’s request for more information on the scope of the project, the publication revisited the area on August 15 to find the contractor, Khavhakone Construction, busy working on the repairs.
This damage reportedly occurred when a vehicle crashed into one of the concrete beams, damaging the supporting column and the deck point, which was then left lopsided. This left pedestrians with no safe alternative way to cross the freeway.
The damaged section on the bridge’s north side was reported to Sanral in April 2022, but the processes to repair it were mired in delays in appointing a contractor.
Even when a contractor was subsequently appointed, the work was again delayed by legal challenges against the road agency’s controversial preferential procurement policy (PPP).
This prompted the agency to withdraw its controversial tender policy, a move that required it to start the tender process afresh, causing significant delays to the bridge repairs.
