Caversham Road collapse could have been avoided, says retired civil engineer
Ralph Beykirch appealed to and urged authorities to fix the cause of the problem.
A RETIRED professional civil engineering consultant and Ashley resident has spoken out after the collapse of Caversham Road, a few days after it was fixed and reopened.
Ralph Beykirch, who recalls his childhood memories of swimming in the unpolluted Umbilo River, appealed to and urged authorities to take cognisance of the cause.
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The Ashley resident believes that the Caversham Road river bridge, which has still not been cleared of debris consisting of plastic waste, plastic bottles, old tree logs, an empty skip bin and large commercial truck tyres, could still cause major issues should heavy rain return.
The April floods did not only lead to the road damage but demolished one house and at least half of each of the two adjacent houses along the road.
ALSO READ: Ashley residents call for calming measures in Caversham Road
Beykirch, who has been residing in the Ashley area since the middle of 1955, has kept rainfall figures since 1987 and said he can’t remember Caversham Road being closed to traffic due to flooding since the new structure had been built. This also applies to the new Richmond Road river crossing.
He said he remembers as a youngster taking shortcuts to Pinetown via Gillitts Road, Umbilo river and on to Trotter Road.
“Those days, the Umbilo River was in pristine condition,” said Beykirch.
He said it is clear that the Caversham Road catastrophe could have been prevented or minimised had regular inspections and essential maintenance works been carried out.
“The municipality has an extensive storm-water management plan for these major storm events. This should be easily checked because a supervisor, manager, and/or head of department would’ve signed off these works/inspections. Where is accountability?” he asked.
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