Pretoria - The next phase of the A Re Yeng bus rapid transit - Line 1B, linking Mayville and Hatfield via Pretoria Central - has hit massive delays, largely due to figures that were higher than the original budget.
The City of Tshwane confirmed on Sunday that although most of the work on the line had been completed, the project experienced delays in the construction of the Wonderboom intermodal facility.
It was initially anticipated that the construction of the facility would be finished in April, which would have paved way for the line to go live.
However, it was delayed due to a number of reasons, including the exorbitant financial quotations by bidding contractors, said Blessing Manale, spokesman for mayor Kgosientso Ramokgopa.
Manale said the reasons for the delays in construction work were partly due to higher financial quotations presented by the bidding contractors.
He could not disclose the amounts in question.
The figures were way beyond the budget that had been set aside by the metro, he said.
“The original tender offers received from contractors were much higher than what we had budgeted for. These resulted in delays of at least four weeks.”
There were other factors that caused the delays, which related to the facility’s design discrepancies. These were noted after the handing over of the site to the contractor and the setting out of works, according to Manale.
He cited an example of the length of the site, which was discovered to be shorter by about 4m.
“The discrepancies had since been corrected and construction would get under way starting from today (on Monday),” he said.
The city had also been engaging in discussions with informal traders, whose livelihoods were likely to be affected by the construction of the intermodal facility, he stated.
To this end, Manale said an agreement was being finalised and the traders should move out of the site by next week.
“The impact on construction has, however, not been severe,” he said.
The new section extends the trunk network northwards to Mayville along Paul Kruger Street in the north of Pretoria central.
Trunk services will be provided between stations using standard 12m buses, the same state-of-the-art buses servicing the inception phase, or Line 1A.
The first phase was a 7km route between Pretoria central and Hatfield, through Sunnyside, which has been operational for several months and proving to be a popular public transport mode in the capital.
Manale said the delay resulted in the extension of the original deadline, which was set for April by a month.
It would now be completed in May, when the go-live date would be announced.
The intermodal facility was part of the line, which would serve as a link from Wonderboom, entering the city centre through Paul Kruger Street and on to Church Square and beyond.
The new line essentially starts from Pretoria Station along Paul Kruger Street on to Mansfield Avenue, through to the Poortop to the Rainbow Junction intermodal station.
The service consists of five stations and an interim passenger facility at Wonderboom station.
The stations have been named Rivonia Trial; anti-apartheid activist Molefe Makinta; ANC founding president Anton Lembede; Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika composer Enoch Sontonga; and former Umkhonto weSizwe cadre Moses Morudu.
The Wonderboom facility will be an interchange point of transport modes such as taxis and buses and is in line with the mixed-transport concept pioneered by the Gauteng Transport Department under MEC Ismail Vadi.
The construction of the facility was officially launched last November at a ceremony to introduce buses that run on compressed gas.
Pretoria News