Potential rewards outweigh hidden risks in an attempt to trim a commute.
In the continuously congested aftermath of the Hendrik Potgieter Road collapse, a forgotten back route was rediscovered. Although alleviating some of the stress on the roads that make up the immediate detour between Willowbrooke and Wilgeheuwel, the clock has ticked on access through Pierre Road. The bridge between Short and Alec Roads was deemed unsafe by Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA) in 2018 and is due for repairs later in 2023.
From the surface, the bridge appears solid with only a slightly sunken kink suggesting anything amiss. However, in 2019 barricades were erected on either side of the stream that runs through the valley but motorists at first drove around them before the concrete blocks were dragged to the curb. In late January, JRA placed mounds of sand where the concrete barriers once stood but motorists and community members drove over them before they were shoveled to the side.
In an email correspondence between JRA and ward governance, the road officials explained the bridge’s condition.
“The visual examination revealed that the founding material of the culvert was severely eroded, making the structure unstable and sinkholes developing on the road surface. The volume of water flowing through the structure during heavy rainfall caused further scouring and erosion, which resulted in the closure of the structure,” stated JRA’s report.
In February 2019 a contractor was appointed to repair the bridge but after a breach of contract, the company’s involvement was terminated. This, as well as budgetary constraints, left the bridge repair in limbo but JRA has since appointed a new contractor with a launch meeting conducted on January 19, hence the mounds of sand.
Budget limitations are not specific to the Pierre Road bridge or even Region C. Based on the information contained in JRA’s Ward 97 communications, the roads entity is given roughly R90 million per year for bridge repairs and is fighting a backlog of aging and deteriorating infrastructure.
READ MORE: Weigh-in on delays in Pierre Road repairs
“The funds get allocated to high-ranking priority structures first. Currently, the City has about 68 high-priority structures needing about R1,261 billion to implement,” reads the JRA report.
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Inspection, assessment, and regulatory requirements are complete with geotechnical investigations and environmental authorisations due to be completed by May and September, respectively. Following the sign-off on all the relevant documentation, work is set to commence by October with a planned completion date set for June 2024.
READ MORE: JRA blamed for Pierre Road barrier disaster
Based on the dates outlined by JRA, the commencement of construction will overlap with what the community will hope to be the final stages of the Hendrik Potgieter Road bridge repair. As small roads used as detours are torn up but the additional loads, motorists will be left with dwindling options.
