Bridger Street revamp comes to a standstill
Refuse collection was also delayed due to the inaccessibility of waste disposal areas. More recently, it has been reported, that work has come to a standstill, as the municipality didn't pay the contractor.
Businessmen and women were elated when work finally started on the ‘obstacle course’ that was Bridger Street.
Albeit later than predicted, much needed repairs to the road surface started in May. However, the elation was short lived when the contractor hit a water pipe, flooding half of the dug up road. The woes continued when delivery vehicles could no longer reach businesses. One shop was damaged after a small truck failed to negotiate the narrow gap between the dug up road and their signage.
“We were the ones to demarcate the space where the vehicles must drive,” said one irate businessman. “The project started late, and was supposed to be finished by now.”
Refuse collection was also delayed due to the inaccessibility of waste disposal areas. More recently, it has been reported, that work has come to a standstill, as the municipality didn’t pay the contractor.
Thulani Ndlovu, Project Management Unit Manager for Technical Services said the completion of the project was delayed due to a number of service lines which were too shallow and had to be lowered, including water pipes, Telkom cables, electrical cables and a stormwater pipe.
“The Telkom and electrical cables took too long to be lowered,” said Mr Ndlovu. “The reason for this is simply because the contractor did not have the required expertise to handle electricity cables. We therefore had to engage Telkom and our electrical department to assist us.”
A man, who wants to remain anonymous and is working for the contracting company, alleged the problem with cables and lines was not due to inability. Allegedly, the municipal workers who were supposed to show him where the lines ran, were unable to pinpoint the exact location of the lines according to their maps.
“They had to come with special equipment to find the lines,” he claimed. “We waited a long time for them. It was during that time we accidentally hit the water pipe.”
Problems persisted, when one of the machines the contractor had on site broke down.
“I had to have the grader brought here from Durban at a considerable cost,” said the contractor. “I couldn’t find a machine like this to hire anywhere in Newcastle.”
Mr Ndlovu denied that work had stopped due to non-payment, and confirmed the breakdown of the machine was the reason work came to a halt.
He further responded to questions as to why a local company, which has the equipment and experience necessary to complete the project, was not used.
“The appointment of the contractor is done through Supply Chain management policies,” read the response. “The appointment is based on the submitted tender and due consideration is given to previous experience, construction costs and other requirements as stipulated in the tender documents.”
The contractor, who is allegedly based in Durban, had to hire machinery, which suggests the company is not in possession of the equipment necessary to complete a project of this nature.
“The company has since submitted an ‘extension of time’ claim, and a revised construction programme, which is still being evaluated. That will determine the new completion date,” concluded Mr Ndlovu.
