Company appointed to rehabilitate Petervale Bridge

A company appointed by Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA) to repair fractures on Petervale Bridge has finally started the work to rehabilitate the bridge that connects the Rivonia, Bryanston and Paulshof communities.

Community members and road users had raised concerns with JRA regarding visible cracks and the state of the bridge since January this year.

One of the concerned community members who had raised the matter with JRA was Lita Jacobsen who said she was happy that the road agency had finally appointed a contractor to fix the bridge.

“As a concerned community member, I started raising the issue of Petervale Bridge with the City in January this year but nothing was done to address the issue that was posing threats to the bridge. The local councillor could not help until we escalated the matter to JRA. With the help of Khaya Mabandla from JRA office in Region E, the matter was finally escalated to the head office of the agency,” she said.

“I am happy that our outcry has finally fell on listening ears and something is being done to address this issue of the dilapidated Petervale Bridge and I hope that the project will be finished in time.”

Ward 106 councillor, Christopher Santana said, “I’ve been working on the issue with JRA since February this year. The process was delayed by the Covid-19 lockdown and procurement process.

“I understand the community uproar after the bridge was closed, but they should understand that the issue of this bridge was not foreseen and there was no budget allocated to repair it.”

Communications officer at JRA, Mosa Makhalima said the bridge would remain closed until the contractor had completed the repairs.

“The repair work that started on 19 October at the Petervale Bridge on 12th Avenue in Bryanston is currently underway. The JRA hopes to complete repair works on the bridge by 23 December,” Makhalima said.