The Minister of Transport, Joe Maswanganyi, visited the site on the N3 where an unused pedestrian bridge collapsed in the early hours of 9 August 2017.

The incident had resulted in a full closure of the N3 north and southbound between the M2 Gildenhuys and N3 Gillooly’s interchanges.

Minister Maswanganyi said government was relieved that no fatalities had occurred.

“We are however saddened that five people were injured, three seriously with one in a critical condition. On behalf of government, we wish those who were injured a speedy recovery. Through our agencies, we shall reach out to them to offer the necessary assistance”, said Maswanganyi.

A forensic investigation to determine the cause of the collapse is underway. The Minister appealed that the investigation should be allowed to take place and discouraged any uninformed speculation as to the cause of the bridge collapse.

Following a briefing Minister Maswanganyi received from SANRAL, the Ekurhuleni Metro and officials from the Gauteng Provincial Government assurances about the safety of the road, the road is now open.

“I commend SANRAL for the work it has done in clearing the debris in as short a period of time as possible. This has ensured that we minimise the disruption of traffic flow on a route with an average daily traffic of 200 000 vehicles. Delays in opening the road would have greatly inconvenienced thousands of motorists and delayed the movement of freight on what is one of our busiest roads in Gauteng,” said Maswanganyi.

Maswanganyi also commends all officials from the three spheres of government for the cooperation they displayed from the time the incident was reported and during the rescue and clearing operations.

“Their display of cooperative governance was admirable,” he said.

The Minister also thanked the media for keeping road users informed about the incident.