The City of Cape Town this week starts with the next phase in the construction of the Strand seawall and road users should take note of the traffic management plan to be implemented by the City.

Bolander last year reported that the second phase of the seawall project would commence early this year, starting at the Strand Pavillion building and ending at Greenways (“Second phase to upgrade seawall starting soon”, Bolander November 22).

The construction is set to be done in five phases and each phase estimated to take five months to complete. The work is aimed to be completed by November next year.

With this construction, the City has announced the plan developed by the contractors to manage the road and pedestrian traffic to assist with, and regulate the flow of traffic during the construction.

The City’s Deputy mayor and mayoral committee member for spatial planning and environment, Alderman Eddie Andrews said: “The project site location between the Pavillion and Greenways is located in a busy tourist area at Strand Beach. The traffic management plan will ensure public safety and maintain traffic flow. These are key in our efforts to minimise disruption to the surrounding residents and visitors while the works are under way.”

According to Mr Andrews the traffic, northbound along Beach Road will be diverted into Michau Street, while there will also be a temporary Stop and Right Turn road marking at the intersection of Beach Road and Alex Pienaar Street, with a one lane closure.

He assured residents that the movement of all heavy machinery and large loads will be scheduled to take place during off-peak hours.

Contractors will tackle construction in 220 meter sections, thus this section of the road will be closed at a time.

Detour signs, clearly indicating alternative routes, will guide cyclists and pedestrians, while road signage will warn drivers of any upcoming detours.

Other safety measures to be implemented during the seawall construction include use of cones, barrricades and road delineators to guide motorists, implementing a speed limit of 40km/h, flagmen guiding motorists, as well as netting cordoning off the beach side of the seawall to protect pedestrians.

Strand Beach falls under Ward 83. Ward Councillor Carl Punt, says access to the beach will be open, but slightly limited during construction and appealed to residents and road users in the vicinity of the cordoned construction site and area to be safe, exercise patience and to note that the access points will vary as the work progresses, keeping the end goal of constructing the wall to the benefit of all beach goers and residents in mind.

The next phase of the construction process will start with the building of the wall from the Strand Pavilion area down in the direction of Greenways. PICTURE: CITY OF CAPE TOWN