Durban - REPAIRS to the M4 Ruth First Highway resumed last week and are expected to be completed in April, according to the Department of Transport.
This was after parts of the highway which leads to uMhlanga and Sibaya were washed away in November due to a burst pipe and the collapse of the embankment behind a five-star uMhlanga resort. Heavy rains added to the damage.
Department of Transport spokesperson Kwanele Ncalane said the engineers were “working day and night to bring everything back to normality”.
“There’s still a lot of work to be done, but we expect the road to be completed by the end of April.
“The pipe was to blame for the destruction of the road. It needs to be moved so that it doesn’t occur again and be redirected so that it doesn’t create problems,” said Ncalane.
A construction worker on-site said the burst was caused by the amount of water passing through the pipe which the ageing infrastructure could not handle.
The ward councillor, Nicole Bollman of the DA, confirmed that the pipe had been redirected.
eThekwini Municipality’s spokesperson, Msawakhe Mayisela, said the city was happy with the progress of the road.
“We will communicate any new developments or the date of the road reopening in due course.”
The Fraser family, who were at the time forced to relocate because of the damage, said they were pleased with the engineers’ progress.
“The engineers advised us to move due to the severity of the damage, which was about 20 metres from our home. Two days later, we were back home,” said the property’s owner, Andrew Fraser.