CONSTRUCTION of the second phase of the city’s biggest ever bulk water pipeline project continues to disrupt and delay road users from Ashley Drive through Wyebank and Kwadabeka to Ntuzuma.
Road users along Pioneer and Wyebank Roads have experienced particular congestions.
Ednick Msweli, head of eThekwini Water and Sanitation (EWS), explained that with a project of this magnitude, they are working on many sections of the pipeline at the same time. Tasks that would usually take six months can run into years as a result of the extent of the works and the complications that arise as a result of constructing large diameter pipelines in suburban roads.
Project manager, Martin Bright, explained that the stretch of road along Pioneer and Wyebank Roads have extensive services which all need to be relocated by the various service suppliers. These include eThekwini Water and Sanitation, which needs to move the existing, smaller pipes; eThekwini Electricity, which will relocate the electrical cables; as well as Telkom, Neotel and MTN, all of whom need to move various fibre optic cables.
“Each of these suppliers require notification, allowing them to plan the work according to their schedules, which then adds to the normal workload. Pioneer and Wyebank Roads are main routes for fibre optic cables, and if any of the services are damaged by the contractor, this causes additional disruption and a seemingly extensive amount of time is needed for a small project,” said Bright.
Bright assured residents that, although there may not be people on site, it is likely that the contractor is awaiting a particular service to be relocated before continuing with the western aqueduct construction.
He said the contractor was aware of the project’s complexity before starting the work, which is why such a long duration was planned for completion of this particular stretch. EThekwini Water and Sanitation has accepted the contractor’s programme for this stretch of road with a duration of some two years.
“In addition to this, there are several work fronts on the 25-kilometre stretch of pipeline and, as is the nature of this work, the contractor has had to reconfigure the workload at times. We do understand that the situation is not always ideal because of the various parties involved, but we really appreciate the patience of the community as work progresses,” said Bright.
The entire project is set for completion at the end of 2017.
