The continuing closure of Pierre Road in Ruimsig was addressed by MMC for Economic Development and Ward 97 councillor, Leah Knott.
Pierre Road was closed before the end of last year, following concerns about the safety of the road infrastructure.
The road was declared unsafe by the Joburg Roads Agency (JRA) after assessments were done, and a need was identified to rehabilitate the major culvert infrastructure over the stream, as the current structure is unsafe for both vehicles and pedestrians.
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Leah detailed the issues that have caused the rehabilitation project to drag.
“In January, JRA appointed Melisibongakonke Transport and Projects to assist with the investigation, design and implementation of the Pierre Road bridge repairs. On 5 February 2019, the engineer submitted an Inception Report, which is basically a detailed report of the current problem and a high-level proposed solution,” she said, providing background to the matter.
She elaborated on the setback. “JRA [confirmed] that there were some delays in providing the engineer with approval of this report so that they could proceed with the next stage of the project. This is regrettable, given the urgency,” she said.
She added that the new acting Managing Director of JRA has since reviewed the engineer’s report and was expected to provide the go-ahead on 30 April 2019, despite minor changes that need to be made.
“The proposed solution is a bigger bridge culvert structure that will improve the capacity of the stream. The implementation of the project will trigger an Environmental Impact Assessment process and a Water Use Licence application. This is a critical stage in the implementation of the project and requires provincial and national government action, which could take several months,” Leah explained.
She went on, “JRA will expedite the process of appointing an environmental practitioner to assist in this regard.
“However, due to the age of the bridge, there may be a need to conduct a Heritage Impact Assessment (HIA) as well. The JRA doesn’t foresee the HIA delaying the implementation process of the project and will also endeavour to engage a heritage practitioner to assist with more detailed investigations,” Leah explained.
Based on the engineer’s high level cost estimation (first order cost estimate), Leah said the construction may cost about R100 million.
“At this stage it’s only a ‘first order cost estimate’ which will be refined during the detailed design stage. Based on experience, the cost should be about R50 million,” she concluded.
