Road users consider the bridge on the R538 near Yaverland a disaster waiting to happen, as it is not being maintained.

The road users and the African Christian Democratic Party’s PR councillor, Suzette Mouton, are calling on the provincial Department of Public Works, Roads and Transport (DPWRT) to urgently attend to the bridge before it collapses.

Mouton said the matter had been reported to the DPWRT on several occasions. Although inspectors were sent out, no action was taken.

“The bridge is dilapidated and it needs to be rebuilt. In the state that it is in, it can collapse at any time. Once the weight on it becomes too heavy, it will go down. Let’s hope when it happens, no life will be lost. It must be treated as a matter of urgency. I also don’t understand why it has not been attended to after it was inspected and it was confirmed to be very dangerous,” Mouton said.

Some of the barricades on the bridge are damaged and some are missing. “That shows there is no maintenance on that road that is now putting the lives of road users at risk,” she said.

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Pieter Murray, a motorist who uses the road on a daily basis, said the bridge needs serious attention.

“I once witnessed one of the biggest accidents I had ever seen on that bridge. The driver was saved by the barricades. Now that they are off the bridge as well, it means the next victim will not be so lucky. The bridge is about to collapse. It is dilapidated and needs to be repaired as soon as possible or people will die,” he said.

A taxi operator, Sbenelo Ngomane, said: “The road connects White River with the plantations and surrounding communities. It’s an economic road that needs to be treated as a matter of urgency, because a lot of people are using it. Very soon it will either leave users dead or with serious injuries. This can be avoided if the provincial government attends to it before that happens.”

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A truck driver, Harris Moyo, told Lowvelder he had stopped using the road three months ago as it was no longer safe. “The bridge shook when I drove on it. The government needs to act fast, because other truck drivers are still using this road to avoid long routes. The heavier the vehicle, the more dangerous it gets.”

The DPWRT’s spokesperson, Bongani Dhlamini, said the department is aware of the bridge and its current condition. Preliminary assessments have been done as part of the DPWRT’s annual bridge assessment programme under its bridge management system and indications of the required repair interventions have been made.

“The bridge near Yaverland will be prioritised in the 2025/26 financial year for repairs. The province has a few ageing bridges, which, although structurally sound, do not look good any more, while others are unsafe to drive on. However, the department will continue with repairs and maintenance as the available budget allows,” Dhlamini said.