Share

Only 6% of Joburg bridges are in good condition - JRA

The City of Johannesburg says it is facing a major headache, after the Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA) said that out of the 902 bridges managed by the City, only 6% are in good condition.

The remaining 94% need immediate intervention.

"The city is facing a R170bn infrastructure backlog. Do we have the money to address this backlog? I’m afraid not, but this issue needs our immediate attention. Some of our bridges are 60 - 90 years old, so we have a crisis in our city," Mayor Herman Mashaba told the media.

READ: Mashaba fiddles as roads agency burns

On Monday morning, Mashaba had an oversight visit regarding structural defects at Selby and Karsene Bridge on M2, where one lane has been closed due to the road sinking.

"We want to raise an excess of R50m to cover up for the shortfall. At the moment, we have agreed that there must be expenditure to this project and we will go to council if there is a need to adjust the budget," City Manager Ndhivo Lukhwareni explained.

Under spending on infrastructure

Mashaba said that although engineers first noticed the problem just over two years ago, the issue was only brought to his attention two weeks ago after the current 2018/19 budget was passed.

The mayor said there had been under spending on infrastructure since 1994.

"Go through the financials of the COJ since 1994 up until we took over. The maximum that has been spent on repairs was 2% and National Treasury expects maintenance and repairs expenditure to be between 8 - 10%," Mashaba said.

The JRA is confident that plans are ready and says they will begin implementing major rehabilitation works on bridges in October.

"The plan is to close as minimal roads as possible. The M2 carries over 30 000 vehicles and during peak you can get 12 000 vehicles per hour and therefore, because so many commuters require this route we have to come up with a traffic management plan," engineer Thomas Chongo said.

The JRA anticipated that this project would take place over a period of 12 months and was busy finalising the procurement process.

KEEP UPDATED on the latest news by subscribing to our FREE newsletter.

- FOLLOW News24 on Twitter

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Voting Booth
Do you think corruption-accused National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula will survive a motion of no confidence against her?
Please select an option Oops! Something went wrong, please try again later.
Results
No, her days are numbered
40% - 192 votes
Yes, the ANC caucus will protect her
60% - 286 votes
Vote
Rand - Dollar
19.02
-0.6%
Rand - Pound
24.01
-0.5%
Rand - Euro
20.53
-0.3%
Rand - Aus dollar
12.35
+0.0%
Rand - Yen
0.13
-0.6%
Platinum
899.20
+0.3%
Palladium
999.25
-0.3%
Gold
2,213.81
+0.9%
Silver
24.60
-0.2%
Brent Crude
86.09
-0.2%
Top 40
68,080
+0.6%
All Share
74,278
+0.5%
Resource 10
56,967
+2.4%
Industrial 25
103,572
+0.3%
Financial 15
16,456
-0.4%
All JSE data delayed by at least 15 minutes Iress logo
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE