Headway being made in Pennington’s ‘S*#t Street’
Ever since the start of the project in April 2010 - aimed at improving the inadequate flow at the station - everything that could possibly go wrong quite literally did.
AFTER nine years and two months, it is now probably safe to say that significant progress has finally been made towards completing repairs to the Pennington pump station.
Or so say Jan and Marie Vosloo who live right on the edge of what they’ve dubbed ‘S*#t Street’.
Ever since the start of the project in April 2010 – aimed at improving the inadequate flow at the station – everything that could possibly go wrong quite literally did.
It was discovered that the preliminary geotechnical investigation conducted by another company was incorrect, and that the rock level was a further two metres below what the then newly-appointed contractors had anticipated.
Additional measures then had to be implemented in order to ensure that the R102 would not collapse onto the site of the project, located on Dolphin Drive.
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At the time, it was decided that contiguous steel sheet piling would be put in place. However, as this was a specialised operation, sub-contracting quotes were obtained.
The goal of the steel sheet piling was to ensure a safe work environment capable of preventing the surrounding area and the R102 from collapsing onto workers.
Work went well until October 2014 when the Ugu District Municipality had to again restart the tender process. During this time, the entire site had flooded, adding to the terrible stench nearby residents were forced to endure.
Housing values in the area took a severe knock.
It wasn’t until 2018 that hope for the completion of the project was restored.
Pilcon Projects – with its solid track record – was awarded the tender. Although the town is quite literally still cut in half by the project, it seems the work will be completed towards the end of this year.
Although the heavy rains experienced nearly a month and a half ago did hamper efforts, the Vosloo family was more than willing to accommodate workers at the site.
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According to the family, workers could be seen struggling to manoeuvre machinery around the site and as a result, they offered to sacrifice a portion of their property to provide a larger working space for the team.
Needless to say, the family, which has endured the smell of human faeces for years, is feeling more positive.
“We have seen workers at the site as late as 9pm trying to ensure that the deadline is met. Previously we considered selling our house but now, we have opted not to,” the couple said, explaining that they are thrilled to see the work progressing so well.
Although human effluent still runs across the road whenever toilets are flushed, this should soon be a thing of the past.
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