The reconstruction of the deadly Ntuzuma (Nhlungwane, Durban) bridge which was damaged by the April 2022 floods and left unattended until it claimed the life of a motorist a year later, has ground to a halt.
This was after the community of Ntuzuma and Besters turned against the contractor and the provincial transport department. They said with a R30 million price tag, it would be unreasonable to say they are building a temporary structure.
Community leader, Mzamo Dlamini, said they have issues with the appointment of the community liaison officer (CLO) for the project, since he was not from the area.
NEWS: The reconstruction of the deadly Ntuzuma (Nhlungwane, Durban) bridge which was damaged by the April 2022 floods and left unattended until it claimed a life of a motorist, has ground to a halt. That was after the community turned against the contractor, saying with R30m pic.twitter.com/BibOdOxE31
— Sihle Mavuso (@ZANewsFlash) July 6, 2023
“After several meetings with stakeholders involved in rebuilding the bridge, there were no amicable resolutions," he said.
Their demands included that they should be shown the bridge design in drawings so that they know what is being built for them.
“On July 2, 2023 the community held a meeting and resolved to demand that the community demands a tangible plan for the bridge which includes architectural drawings and specifications,” Dlamini told IOL.
“We also want to see the certificate on when the plan was passed in civil and road construction by-laws,” he said.
“They should also show a 3D picture/plan of the completed bridge, as is done for other projects of this magnitude.”
Dlamini added that after learning that the project would cost R30 million, the community said there is no way that amount of money could be used to build a temporary bridge.
“During the first site visit done by the DOT (Department of Transport KwaZulu-Natal), it was said on record that the current construction is a temporary structure that will cost R21 million,” Dlamini said.
"That is also according to announcements made by the mayor (Mxolisi Kaunda of eThekwini municipality) when the project was started,“ he said.
“On the second site visit by Mr Mthethwa (DOT), a further R9 million was added to the existing budget of R21 million, bringing the total cost of the reconstruction of the bridge to R30 million.”
Dlamini said that the community was demanding that the allocated R30 million should be used to build a safe and permanent bridge with columns or pillars that would allow debris to pass underneath.
He said that was informed by comparing other nearby bridges.
“They have made the comparison to a structure that is similar to surrounding areas namely; Maoti Ratan, KwaMashu /L and M and Cross road near KwaDladla,” Dlamini said.
The spokesperson of the department, Kwanele Ncalane confirmed that there have been "challenges“ and claimed that work has resumed on-site after some interventions.
“The department is aware that there have been some challenges with the construction of that project. However, after interventions by the department, working with the local councillor and other structures, the contractor has resumed on-site and work is currently ongoing,” Ncalane said.
“We are optimistic that as the contractor has resumed there won't be any further disruptions because we would like to see this project completed in the next four months.”
He added that the priority right now is to restore the connection between the communities on both sides of the river the bridge goes over.
IOL visited the project on Sunday and found that all equipment brought by the contractor in preparation for starting the process to rebuild the bridge that connects Besters and Ntuzuma had been removed.
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