Councillors visit problem bridges in Ward 104

Ward 104 councillor Emi Koekemoer, along with Democratic Alliance’s Shadow MMC for Transport, Sean Kreusch, conducted an oversight visit to assess the condition of bridges and road infrastructure across the ward.

Their first stop was the riverbank along the CR Swart Drive bridge, which is steadily eroding and collapsing, threatening nearby properties and businesses. The visit concluded at the Gertrude Bridge, recently struck by floods that caused extensive damage to surrounding homes.

Read more: High impact service delivery campaign transforms Ward 102

Koekemoer voiced concern over the state of the sites, particularly in light of the Johannesburg Roads Agency’s (JRA) promise of major investment in road infrastructure.
“We are unfortunately not seeing that translate into real-time impact on the ground. So, the two sites that we were looking at today are really bad. The riverbank is affecting business, as they can no longer get insured,” she said.

JRA is currently working on an erosion protection project at the Gertrude Bridge, aimed at reinforcing the riverbank and protecting nearby property. However, residents argue that the intervention has disrupted the natural flow of water, contributing to the recent severe flooding.

“The situation on Gertrude has been a stop-start project due to poor planning, and they started in the middle of the rainy season, which arguably caused massive flooding in March. People are just generally very unhappy,” Koekemoer added.

JRA’s head of infrastructure development, Kwazelela Mcetywa, clarified that the project focuses on protecting the embankment at 134 Gertrude Street. The plan involves constructing a reinforced concrete wall to replace the collapsed masonry and gabion wall.

“JRA has implemented and is currently implementing erosion protection projects to prevent erosion damage to properties located along the riverbanks. The affected property owners are also kept abreast of the project progress,” he said.

Mcetywa added that an investigation into the project is underway. Prior studies on the river and its catchment area were conducted to identify a medium-to long-term solution.

“Property owners in the area are situated within the 1-in-100-year flood line and are therefore prone to flooding. According to current regulations, no development is permitted within this flood zone. The handling of claims, relocation, or property purchases involves multiple entities and must be approved at the City of Johannesburg level,” he concluded.

Follow us on our Whatsapp channel, Facebook, X, Instagram, and TikTok for the latest updates and inspiration! Have a story idea? We’d love to hear from you – join our WhatsApp group and share your thoughts!