Camps Bay Drive on Cape Town’s Atlantic seaboard would remain closed to general traffic until late November, pending the completion of major roadworks that had been ongoing since April, the City of Cape Town said yesterday.
Transport for Cape Town, the city’s transport authority, was spending about R30 million on this project, which would significantly improve the road’s condition and safety for road users, the mayoral committee member for transport, Brett Herron, said in a statement.
“At the time of the Camps Bay Drive closure, about 14 000 vehicles travelled along this scenic route every day. Given that Camps Bay Drive has to carry a high volume of traffic and has not seen any major rehabilitation or reconstruction for more than 30 years, it was essential to undertake the roadworks,” he said.
“This important artery is now also required to carry significantly more bus traffic as a MyCiTi feeder route between the city, Camps Bay and Hout Bay, and the slackening of the sharp corners along Camps Bay Drive is thus part of this project to allow for the safe passage of buses in opposite directions in future.”
Camps Bay Drive had been closed to general traffic since April 20 and would, if all went according to plan, be opened before the end of November.
“We said in April that the project would be concluded by the end of September, pending any unforeseen circumstances. Unfortunately, we have encountered a number of unexpected challenges that have delayed the project by at least another nine weeks to the end of November 2015. As much as we regret the inconvenience that is caused by the delay, these factors are beyond the City’s control,” he said.
Provision had been made for residents who lived along streets adjacent to Camps Bay Drive to have easier access to and from their houses. Certain sections of the road had been prioritised to provide residents with alternative access routes, thereby giving them the option of avoiding the full detour via Geneva Drive, should they choose to do so.
“The construction teams are working as fast as conditions allow. The major delay to the project is due to the ground conditions that forced us to excavate deeper than was originally planned. This was unavoidable as we needed to ensure that the founding conditions for the road’s upper structure are sound.
“Furthermore, we came across old and damaged stormwater infrastructure that needed to be repaired. We also had to install additional subsoil drainage to prevent groundwater and rainwater from damaging the road structure.
“All of these measures were taken in an effort to extend the lifetime of the new road structure and surface and to ensure that we spend our taxpayers’ money in a responsible manner,” Herron said. – ANA