Reader unhappy at progress with Sand River Bridge
Reader Garth Perry feels enough is enough on the bridge debacle.
“I, as a St Francis resident, have been looking forward to the completion of the construction of the bridge over the Sand River ever since the contract was awarded last year. Whilst I am grateful that the contract for the reconstruction of the bridge was eventually awarded, we waited an excessive time for the Province to remedy the loss of the bridge after it washed away a few years ago. Since the award of the contract, I have been prepared to put up with the inconvenience of detours and machine movements in the belief that the end will justify the hardships endured during the construction phase.
There is, however, a limit to my patience. Whilst it is the Contractors business as to how long he takes to construct the works, he should realise that he makes no friends by dragging the construction period to excessive periods as he is doing. After a tediously long construction period, traffic was diverted from the detour over a portion of the final bridge width. Everyone said ‘YAY’. Jubilation was, however, short lived.
The approaches to the bridge were prepared for the heavy traffic flow with a conventional base course which was then painted black with a thin coat of bitumen emulsion. It was patently obvious from the outset that this would be totally inadequate during a period of rain, let alone during dry weather. Limited rain has fallen since then, but the riding surface has deteriorated during the dry period and the recent rains to the extent that it is best classified as atrocious.
The final completion of this Contract appears to be some months away, based on the painfully slow progress made to date. Why do we have to have this situation imposed on us by the powers that be? I do not appreciate the middle finger being shown to me by a Contractor, Consulting Engineer and the Province who have no direct interest in the future well being of our home town. We deserve better!!!”
The rain has certainly helped churn up the ground onthe bridge approaches and it not for the traffic calming one would do serious damage to one’s tires were you not forced to drive so slowly. Good news is that construction will halt for the builders holiday’s in mid Deember so thinhs may improve marginally Garth
Stopping work for the season only extends the construction period!!
Has anyone been issued an updated programme showing status line?
so we all know when they are due to finnish?
How about our new Mayor dig a little [excuse the pun] into how it is that a temporary bridge cost R1 million to build and that it would have cost R3 million to put the original culverts back, has now apparently cost R44 million and counting.
Let her too not forget to investigate construction company price collusion, which they have all too easily admitted to recently.
Maybe she can get our bridge finished and get R40 million value back to re-tar the entire Greater St Francis area while they are at it.
You are not alone in your frustration. our last visit was in Nov 2016 when we purchased a home here.
On moving here last month we could not believe that the bridge had not been completed.we have never encountered such an important access being “constructed” at such a snails pace.Doesnt say much for the construction company does it.
I totally endorse all that Garth Perry has written above. The temporary bridge is barely navigable this morning with large potholes and slippery mud and it is totally unacceptable that this job has been so drawn out
I am not an engineer but I would be surprised if there were a worse looking bridge construction site anywhere on planet Earth. Additionally every time I cross the bridge there is little evidence of anyone actually working.
Touche Garth,
I am an ex tyre man and can assure our readers that the deteriorating approaches will cause damage to one’s tyres. The fact that the contractors will be closed for their shutdown will probably make matters worse as there will be no one available to maintain the degenerating approaches during that time as the traffic flow will increase and so will the damage.
What are the penalties to the Contractors for going over time? Are they being imposed or ignored?
As far as I can recall, at the time the contract was awarded, the period indicated was 15 months.
Was this a condition of the awarding the contract? and if so what penalties were provided for?
The whole thing stinks of corruption. The engineering is unsound and seems designed to fail to guarantee someone future work. Perhaps there will even be over-runs on the existing contract. The Japanese can fix an enormous sinkhole in the middle of Tokyo in 3 days, with all services restored, and we can’t even build a very simple bridge in a year! This is something that would take any respectable company 3 months at the most, even with lazy, totally unskilled, and unmotivated labour. Whichever municipal official is getting a kickback to allow this to happen must be quite happy though.