Residents proud of new-look St Michael’s
A major upgrading of the beach and surrounding areas has now been completed.
VISITORS to St Michael’s this season are sure to be impressed to see that the popular beach and surfing hot spot has acquired a stunning new look.
Contractors are wrapping up the project that has seen the resurfacing of the beach parking area and surrounding roads.
The sidewalks leading to the beach have been neatly paved and edged with kerbstones and attractive beachfront lighting has been installed.
St Michael’s residents are thrilled with the total revamp of their favourite beach and are unanimous in their praise for the contractor for achieving this with minimal disruption.
According to Hibiscus Coast Municipality spokesman, Simon April, the project was the sixth phase of the municipality’s massive Rehabilitation of Urban Roads programme.
This phase, which had now been completed, included Bay Road and a portion of Orange Rocks Road. A total of R4 589 200 had been allocated for the rehabilitation of Bay Road, including the professional fees, in the 2015/2016 budget. A further R2 962 400 had been budgeted for the Orange Rocks portion, he said.
Mafahleni Consulting Engineers had been appointed as the consultant and Margate Construction JV ABD had been the contractor.
The scope of works had included the removal of existing surfaces and the construction of new pavement layers as the underlying layers had failed and had needed to be reconstructed. The existing parking area had also needed reconstructing and upgrading to an acceptable level as the surface had been badly degraded and heavily potholed.
As well as being aesthetically pleasing, the smart new sidewalks had been constructed to keep pedestrians, joggers and runners going to and from the beach safe from traffic, Mr April added.
The street lights, a particularly attractive feature of the upgrade, had been installed to ensure visibility and safety of road users and pedestrians after dark. Mr April said the municipality had decided on the upgrade of the access road to St Michael’s as it had been badly degraded and severely potholed.
He pointed out that St Michael’s beach was an important tourist attraction that attracted thousands of visitors during the holiday seasons. The municipality was also proud of the fact that the construction project had provided employment for 16 people.
As well as being a drawcard for surfers and beach-loving families, St Michael’s beach is also one of 69 parkrun locations in South Africa and is therefore part of a global keep fit movement that is growing exponentially.
The Uvongo parkrun, a free, timed 5km run or walk along Saints Walk and back, starts at St Michael’s beach every Saturday at 8am. An average of nearly 150 runners take part in this event every week.
The record number of entrants for the Uvongo parkrun is 245 runners or walkers. The organisers expect to see big fields during December, so the St Michael’s upgrade is sure to be well admired by parkrunners from all over South Africa these holidays.
