Inanda Road upgrade delayed

UPPER Highway residents recently expressed their ongoing frustration with the construction being conducted at Inanda Road in Hillcrest.

Some residents expressed their frustration on the Waterfall Crime Watch’s Facebook group page with regards to the time spent on the upgrades and demanded feedback on the progress as well as an estimated completion date, while others reported that their vehicle’s tyres have been damaged on the road.

Jason Haveman, the contracts manager of Martin and East, responded to the complaints, assuring residents that the contractors are doing their best to complete the road upgrade as soon as possible.

Haveman also assured residents that the contractors are doing their best to repair pot holes on the road. “The road is old and it is deteriorating very quickly,” said Haveman.

“We hope to have the upgrade completed by April 2015. Our progress has been affected by the government’s necessity to expropriate properties along the road’s construction site. The properties need to be shrunk in order to accommodate the new lanes. This has been a timely process. At the moment, we don’t have access to the properties and this has delayed our progress,” said Haveman.

Councillor Tex Collins, of ward 9, has supported Haveman’s statement, by explaining that pipe and electricity connections need to be moved by the government, and until the properties have been expropriated the connections can not be moved.

“We urge residents to be patient. Once the construction has been completed the road will be magnificent,” said Cllr Collins.

Heavy rains in September caused massive damage to the Inanda Road Bridge, which has also delayed the upgrade, as the bridge had to be repaired before the contractors could continue with the upgrade.

According to Haveman, the upgrade involves the construction of a new carriage-way (two lanes wide) on the left of the current temporary lane. Once the carriage-way on the left has been completed the construction will continue off the temporary road.

The Department of Transport could not be reached for comment.