Repair work under way on N2 bridge in KZN, Minister says roadway will be open for festive season
Transport Minister Barbara Creecy says repair work will get under way on KwaZulu-Natal's N2 soon with the hopes of the roadway being re-opened from the beginning of December for the festive season.
The roadway on the N2 south between Joyner Road and Dickens Road was closed on Monday following a partial bridge collapse.
This week, President Cyril Ramaphosa along with Creecy and Deputy Transport Minister, Mkhuleko Hlengwa, accompanied South African National Roads Agency SOC Limited (Sanral) officials to the Mbokodweni River Bridge for an update by Sanral CEO Reginald Demana on short-term plans which are to be implemented in the next few days.
Demana said a more permanent upgrade that will begin early in 2025.
"We've decided, together with Sanral, that we need a short-term solution, particularly as we know that this road is going to be carrying very heavy southbound traffic during the festive season.
"I'm told by the engineers that even when the permanent solution is being put in place, we won't experience another closure such as this one. We will be able to work on this bridge by installing the permanent solution during night time closures," Creecy said.
Sanral's preliminary findings suggest the damage to the bridge resulted from the failure of span four of the bridge, which was caused by the malfunctioning of its bearings, particularly the concrete rocker bearing on the east side and the central bearings.
Demana said when they were informed of the bridge structural failure, engineers inspected the bridge and traffic was diverted to the R102, which runs parallel to the N2.
He said trucks were re-routed further into the industrial area as the R102 cannot carry heavy freight loads.
"What we have seen is that there is damage to the support pillar and the concrete bearings. We need to replace the bearings. We are going to use modern technology, which means putting in steel bearings. The bridge was built in the 1960s, so it’s quite old and was built using old technology we no longer use.
"As a temporary solution, we are going to use hydraulic jacks to lift the deck back to the same level as the other decks. We will then reopen to traffic. While traffic is moving, we will work on a permanent solution, which is to manufacture steel bearings that will be inserted inside the deck and the pillars," Demana said.
He added that Sanral aimed to have the traffic flow again before the start of the festive season in December. The more permanent solution will be implemented early next year.
PRESIDENTIAL IMBIZO
— The Presidency 🇿🇦 (@PresidencyZA) November 8, 2024
President @CyrilRamaphosa conducts an inspection of the Ezimbokodweni River Bridge failure on the N2 in KwaZulu-Natal
The damage occurred on Monday, 5th November 2024 with the bridge failure resulting in the closure of the southbound carriageway over the… pic.twitter.com/mmNiL5M3UN
WATCH: His Excellency President @CyrilRamaphosa conducting inspection on the Ezimbokodweni River on the N2 in KwaZulu-Natal#PresidentialImbizo#LeaveNoOneBehind pic.twitter.com/bPf2lTf5dE
— Department of Transport (@Dotransport) November 8, 2024
IOL News