Ballyclare Drive crumbles

Ballyclare Drive has seen a catastrophic collapse between Ballina Road and St Audley Road, making the road unusable in both directions.

Ward 103 councillor Vincent Earp is concerned about the safety of road users on Ballyclare Drive. “The Johannesburg Roads Agency [JRA] has been working on Ballyclare Drive, fitting storm water pipes. These pipes might have something to do with the road collapse. I have urged the JRA to send a team to properly assess the damage as there might be more holes forming further down the road,” said Earp.

He added that heavy road usage could worsen the problem. “The Gautrain bus makes use of Ballyclare Drive.

“These heavy vehicles could worsen the situation and put people’s lives in danger. The barricades put up by the JRA are not up to scratch, and I believe that they should close the road until we can be certain that it is safe to use.”

Regional co-ordinator for the JRA, Vusi Sikhakhane said JRA has deployed their emergency reaction team to close Ballyclare Drive at the worst affected area while still maintaining access to Bryneven Primary School. “A section of Ballyclare Drive has subsided. We have put barriers in place and we will make a full assessment of the damage”.

Roads agency spokesperson, Bertha Peters-Scheepers said the JRA has confirmed that following their weekend inspection, the stormwater drainage project along Ballyclare was proceeding according to schedule.

“The area  is a construction site and unfortunately heavy rains over the weekend lead to some earth movement around the stormwater pipes.”

Peters-Scheepers added that the JRA would re-open the road as soon as it had been properly secured. “The safety of road users is a JRA priority and we appeal to road users to continue exercising patience and caution when using the area as construction work is in progress.”

Also at the weekend, the bridge crossing the Braamfontein Spruit on Belgrave Street flooded and caused at least one serious accident when a small passenger vehicle was swept off the bridge on evening of 14 May.

A local resident and volunteer committee member of the Bryanston River Club Community Forum who wishes to remain anonymous has been recording incidents on the bridge. “The Belgrave low-level bridge is used by over 2 000 motorists a day and with the road works on Ballyclare [Drive] this will increase in the near future.

“As a community, we are concerned over the increase in the number of incidents at the bridge and how many people are unaware of how dangerous it is to cross when there is even light rainfall.”

The resident states that the Bryanston River Club Community Forum has tried to put up danger tape to block the road off in the past but motorists just ignore it. Concrete barricades which were erected on the bridge get washed away by the force of the water.

The resident added that the community would appreciate assistance from the JRA to make the bridge safer.

“Street lights need to be installed so that motorists can see if the bridge is safe to cross at night, and better signage would help warn motorists and pedestrians
of the dangers of crossing the bridge when it floods.”

Ward 103 councillor Vincent Earp agreed that the bridge lacks numerous safety features. “There are no lights that illuminate the bridge at night, and there are no barricades to  speak of,” Earp said.

“One possible safety upgrade would be to install booms at the entrances to the bridge that can be lowered in case of flooding.”

Earp added that JRA needs to look at either upgrading  the current bridge or build a new one.

Details: Ward councillor Vincent Earp 079 882 2652.