Utrecht Street dust expected to settle soon
According to the contractors at the site, the operation had hit a snag early on when it was discovered, the hard way, that water pipes and cables below the surface of the road were laid shallower than expected.
Disgruntled business owners will soon be able to dust themselves off and carry on with business as usual.
Roadworks on the section of Utrecht Street between Deputation and President Streets began on April 23 and workers toiled tirelessly through the night to rip up the surface of the road.
Some store owners were concerned by the perception that very little seemed to be going on after that until last Wednesday, when work commenced at full speed.
“We just want them to get finished with it now,” said a store owner, who felt that inaccessibility to his store was causing an inconvenience to his clients.
According to the contractors at the site, the operation had hit a snag early on when it was discovered, the hard way, that water pipes and cables below the surface of the road were laid shallower than expected.
“We have tried to be as accommodating as possible to the public and business owners in the area, even working at night when there’s less traffic,” stated one of the contractors. “We do allow vehicles through because we understand that people need to run their businesses, but there are a few times when we can’t.”
One of the main concerns, aside from the inconvenience of the road closure, as with any construction work, is dust. Dry conditions do nothing to lessen the problem and neither does the current water crisis. Another factor which adds to the dusty dilemma is the failure of many motorists to adhere to the current speed limit of 20kph, which only further unsettles the dust on the road surface.
Contractors arranged for a local company, Bo’s Plant and Tool Hire, to assist with the dust dilemma by spraying water on the sandy surface of the exposed section of road over the long weekend while Dreykon workers were unavailable.
“Dust is and always has been a problem when this type of construction is done and the water situation makes it difficult as well,” said another contractor.
A water tanker was brought in on Wednesday to minimise the dust and progress seemed promising at that stage, barring any further delays.
“If all goes according to plan, the road should be ready to use by the end of the weekend,” revealed the contractors.
Once this section has been completed, roadworks will continue, intersection to intersection along Utrecht Street, over the next ten weeks, until completion at East Street.
