Continued construction delays on the Modderfontein Road Bridge remain a source of frustration.
In addition to affecting residents, many of whom live in the nearby Rand Aid retirement villages, and commuters, the delays in completing the bridge have also impacted businesses, as it affects their day-to-day operations and ability to generate income.
Nearby Inyoni Creek residents Shirley and Lyonell Fliss have expressed serious concerns about the prolonged construction and its impact on the community, particularly traffic congestion during peak hours.
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Fliss explained that forcing traffic into a single lane creates severe congestion, often bringing traffic to a standstill.
“They have closed one of the bridges on a main road, and there has been no activity or sign of work being done for a very long time,” said Fliss.
“Everything is half done. It’s terrible,” added Pein.
The pair said the last time they saw any work being carried out at the site was more than a year ago.
“This is an important thoroughfare, and it has become severely constricted.
“There were recent upgrades along Modderfontein Road, increasing the road from two lanes to three lanes. This has helped, but the problem starts when motorists reach the bridge, where the three lanes merge into a single lane,” said Fliss.
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Bricks for Africa owner Desai Dharmesh said the project has cost his business approximately 30% of its trade since construction began.
He added that other nearby businesses have experienced similar losses.
Dharmesh said erosion along the riverbank caused his business’s perimeter wall to collapse, forcing him to pay for repairs himself.
He added that the Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA) has installed gabions along the riverbank as part of the project.
The JRA’s head of infrastructure development, Kwazelela Mcetywa, previously told the Bedfordview and Edenvale News that the northern bridge is vulnerable to further erosion beneath the structure, which led to its closure.
Mcetywa explained that the northern bridge was closed to protect public safety and reduce traffic loads on the structure.
Work on the project began in 2021.
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He said widening of the southern bridge is under way to accommodate the widening of the Jukskei River.
However, similar work still needs to be completed on the northern bridge. The repairs and upgrades are necessary to prevent floodwater from the Jukskei River from flowing over the bridges.
Explaining the delay, Mcetywa said construction was halted because of the poor performance of the appointed contractor.
Questions were sent to the JRA requesting an update on the project, including when construction will resume, why it was halted, and when residents can expect the bridge to be completed.
Comments were requested by 16:00 on August 8. At the time of going to print, no response had been received.
