Bridge repairs along M1 vital
The Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA) announced that there are going to be disruptions over the next 18 months for Joburg motorists who are going to have to adjust their travelling times and routes.
This is due to the rehabilitation of three major bridges in the city.
Motorists face between 45 minutes to an hour delay along the M1 during peak times. The M1 is going to be affected from the Oxford Road off-ramp to the St Andrew’s Road ramp. This highway carries 10,000 vehicles a hour in both directions during peak times.
The rehabilitation of the bridges over Oxford and Federation Roads and the double-decker bridge on the M1 between Carr and Anderson Streets in the CBD will cost R210 million and are scheduled to be completed by May 2017.
THREE PHASES
The 1.4km of work along the M1 will be done in three phases:
1. November until March will see a reduction in lane widths along the M1 between Killarney and St Andrews on the M1 without a reduction of the number of lanes.
2. March to August will see the reduction of lanes.
3. August to December will see the reduction of lanes and off-ramps.
The double-decker rehabilitation will take until May 2017 to complete. The most disruptive work will be done at night.
OVERDUE REPAIRS
“We appeal to motorists for patience. The bridges, which were built about 50 years ago, need serious maintenance. There is water leaking into them, storm-water drains are blocked, railings and signage have been vandalised.
The rehabilitation of the city’s ageing infrastructure cannot be delayed any longer.
We urge motorists to budget more time for their daily travels in the wake of extensive repair work. We will strive to keep disruptions to a minimum. We have a comprehensive communications strategy to keep people informed at all times about disruptions and alternative routes,†Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA) acting managing director, Mpho Kau.
EXPECT HEAVY TRAFFIC
Esther Schmidt, the JRA operations manager, said extensive traffic studies had been done before construction work.
“We monitored traffic patterns doing 15-minute daily counting, we established the destination and departure patterns from suburbs and we believe we have come up with workable alternative routes. During construction, we will also be monitoring traffic patterns on an hourly basis through our control room.
“Yes, there are going to be disruptions – this is an extremely busy freeway and motorists are going to have to plan ahead,†she said.
Residents can call the JRA at 0860 562 874 for alternative routes, e-mail: hotline@jra.org.za or visit: www.jra.org.za