The Johannesburg Roads Agency is pleading with motorists who use the M1 highway to bear with them for several more months as they continue to rehabilitate and maintain work on the Oxford and Federation Bridge in Parktown.
They were initially supposed to have completed the work by the end of this month but due to the large-scale repairs that had to be carried out, more time is needed to ensure that the bridges and the M1 highway won’t need routine maintenance for many more years to come.
The agency’s spokesperson, Bertha Peters-Scheepers said the work stood at 69 per cent completion after contractors discovered they would have to dig an additional 30 metres underground in order to fill pockets of space with a grout mixture.
“There are two different types of rocks that can be found under the foundation of the bridge and the most important job for this project is to reinforce the structure of the two bridges as well as the road,” she explained.
She added that once the work was completed on the bridges and the road, motorists would experience better traction and that when it rained the water would be drawn off the road much quicker.
A concrete barrier has also been built on the M1 highway ensuring that motorists driving through that area will not be blinded by the lights from oncoming traffic. However, no additional lanes will be added to the 2km stretch of road that is being rehabilitated.
“This project is in line with the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project by the South African National Roads Agency (Sanral),” Peters-Scheepers explained.
Furthermore, residents who live along that stretch of road will sleep more soundly at night as there will be less noise coming from the road once the work has been completed.
Peters-Scheepers said they hoped to have completed this project by the end of the year but warned motorist that they would now be embarking on the rehabilitation of the double-decker highway and that there would be lane restrictions that would affect traffic.
She urged commuters to use public transport where possible or continue to use alternative routes.
Details: Johannesburg Roads Agency hotline 011 375 5911.
Read:
JRA enters the second phase of construction on the M1
M1 traffic disruptions to last 18 months
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