Councillor pushes for bridge repairs
As the residents await the committee's findings, they hope this action will finally bring progress to the long-delayed repairs.
To tackle the long-standing infrastructure issues in the area, the Ward 97 councillor, Elmari Atterbury, called on the Section 79 Transport Oversight Committee to conduct an oversight visit to the collapsed Sjampanje Street and Pierre Road bridges on Thursday, May 14.
Residents have been frustrated and concerned about road safety and accessibility due to the closure of these bridges for years. Residents are still feeling the impact of these collapses as they have to take detours which are sometimes longer to get to their destinations, leaving them with the battle against traffic at times.
Also read: Sjampanje bridge crumbles amid heavy rainfall
The Sjampanje Street bridge partially collapsed in 2022 during heavy rains, cutting off a key route to residents who used it to get to schools and other services on either side of the area. The bridge’s conditions have worsened over time as heavy rains struck the area earlier this year, leaving it at the mercy of destruction. Despite promises, there have been no repairs as of yet. The Pierre Road bridge was closed in 2023 due to structural damage, and actions taken to have it fixed have been slow.
“I’m asking the Section 79 Transport Oversight Committee to stand with me so that we can get this fixed sooner rather than later before we have to deal with all the issues that we’re starting to see on Hendrik Potgieter,” Atterbury says.
Atterbury also highlighted the poor state of the roads across the ward, particularly after the heavy rainfall in March this year. Hendrik Potgieter Road, a major route connecting Roodepoort to the rest of the city, is also at risk of partial closure, which would cause traffic chaos.
Also read: Residents invited to Pierre Road bridge upgrade meeting
“I wanted them to understand the difficulty residents have commuting in the area and how bad traffic will be exacerbated should Hendrik Potgieter be closed due to the storms. I also want the committee to recommend less red tape to get approval from all the different stakeholders to track the bridge repairs,” she concludes.
