MEDIA RELEASE
President Cyril Ramaphosa visits Mbokodweni River Bridge as government prioritises
repairs ahead of the festive season
Caption: President Cyril Ramaphosa receiving a briefing from the Transport Minister Barbara Creecy, Deputy Transport Minister Mkhuleko Hlengwa and SANRAL CE Reginald Demana at the Mbokodweni River Bridge in Durban
Durban, 8 November 2024 – President Cyril Ramaphosa visited the Mbokodweni River Bridge on the N2 in KwaZulu-Natal earlier today (Friday) to inspect and be briefed on the state of the bridge structure, following its failure on Monday (4 November).
The N2 South between Joyner Road and Dickens Road has been closed since Monday, following an emergency assessment conducted by the South African National Roads Agency SOC Limited (SANRAL) which recommended it be closed to traffic until it is restored to meet safety standards.
Ramaphosa was briefed by Transport Minister Barbara Creecy, Deputy Transport Minister Mkhuleko Hlengwa and SANRAL CEO Reginald Demana on the short-term emergency solution to be implemented in the next few days, as well as a more permanent upgrade that will begin early in 2025.
Speaking at the site visit, Creecy said, “I am here with a team of SANRAL engineers. They have done an assessment on the bridge and the plan going forward is that there will be a temporary repair done, which will allow the bridge to be opened from
the beginning of December for the festive season.
“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,” she noted.
Creecy added, “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 nighttime closures.”
Demana said it was important for the President to see the condition of the road, which is a critical economic artery in KwaZulu-Natal.
“We hosted the President, the Minister of Transport and the Deputy Minister of Transport at the damaged Mbokodweni River Bridge. It was important that they see this because the N2 is a major trade route, connecting Durban to many other areas in the Eastern Cape. So, they wanted to see the extent of the damage.”
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 SANRAL first heard of the problem, its engineers inspected the bridge and traffic was diverted to the R102, which runs parallel to the N2. 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,” Demana explained.
“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 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, he added.
“We appreciate that the diversions are not easy, (but) they are a temporary solution we must live with in order to fix the bridge,” he said.
The Mbokodweni River Bridge was built in the 1960s and is over 64 years old. SANRAL indicated the bridge structure had received a 98% pass mark in a detailed inspection undertaken in February. According to SANRAL, given the bridge’s long life span, the spalling and cracking of the concrete were likely caused by age-related deterioration which also increased the corrosion of the reinforcements within the bearings, leading to their failure.
The President’s site inspection followed Deputy Transport Minister Mkhuleko Hlengwa’s visit yesterday (Thursday, 7 November) when he called for patience from road users as SANRAL began emergency measures to repair the damaged Mbokodweni River Bridge.
SANRAL has appointed a contractor who is expected to begin emergency repairs shortly and complete the project by early December 2024.
The contract for the estimated R5 billion upgrading the N2 section between Moss Kolnik Drive and Isipingo to a four or five lane carriageway is already in the procurement stage and is expected to be awarded in the first quarter of 2025.
The upgrades will entail the upgrading of the bridge structure to modernise it.
An audio clip is available for download here: https://we.tl/t-lzGukq3hVq
//Ends
Media Contact:
Lwando Mahlasela
SANRAL Media Relations Manager
082 440 5305
Collen Msibi
National Department of Transport Spokesperson
066 476 9015