JRA to commence urgent roadworks on the M2
The bridges on the M2 were built in the 1960s and are now near the end of their design lifespan, requiring urgent reconstruction and rehabilitation.
“Recently, I was alerted to serious concerns regarding the poor condition of sections of the bridges on the M2. Upon my own investigation, various defects were detected at the bridges, posing significant risk to our residents,” said City of Johannesburg Executive Mayor, Herman Mashaba.
According to Mashaba, the bridges on the M2 were built in the 1960s and are now near the end of their design lifespan, and require urgent reconstruction and rehabilitation.
A specialist appointed by the Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA) has completed detailed assessments of the affected sections of the bridges. The affected sections suffer from severe cracks that have affected the structural integrity of the sections.
As an immediate measure, the JRA is preparing to redirect limited funding from other projects, at a cost of approximately R58 million, in order to start working on the bridges as a matter of urgency, while seeking to minimise traffic disruptions as much as possible. Once work begins, reconstruction of the affected sections of the bridges is estimated to take up 12 months.
When construction takes place, only one lane will be closed at a time and most of the work on top of the M2 will be done at night so as to limit the need to close the bridge.
“Since coming into office, I have been concerned about the massive infrastructure backlog which was allowed to accumulate within the City.
Indeed, previous administrations allowed a R12 billion backlog in our bridge infrastructure, a R7,1 billion backlog on road infrastructure and a R56 billion backlog on our storm-water drainage systems to develop, just in respect of our road network alone. In a survey conducted in 2017, 3 900km of our road network fell into the poor or very poor condition,” he said.
“These are enormous inherited backlogs arising from years of neglect that have seen our roads deteriorating over the past decade. The City has 902 bridges that are maintained and managed by the JRA,” he explained.
The M2 is one of the main motorways linking the N3 and N2 with the inner city and the western parts of Johannesburg. If the rehabilitation is not carried out soon and the affected sections of bridge collapse, the M2 motorway will be closed to traffic and the congestion on roads around and in the inner city will increase dramatically. This in turn will have severe consequences on the economy and mobility of citizens and visitors to the City of Johannesburg.
“Once repairs to the bridges commence, I appeal to residents to be patient as we seek to mitigate any loss of life as a result of the previous neglect of the infrastructure,” he added.
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