By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has inspected the damaged Ezimbokodweni River Bridge on the N2 in KwaZulu-Natal, following the bridge’s partial collapse on Monday.
The N2 highway is closed following a partial bridge collapse. Repairs are expected to be completed by 13 December.
Ramaphosa did the inspection ahead of the District Development Model (DDM) Presidential Imbizo held at Umnini Sportsfield in Umgababa.
Transport Minister Barbara Creecy, who accompanied the President, announced that the Department of Transport, with the South African National Roads Agency (SANRAL), aims to temporarily repair the bridge, targeting a December reopening to accommodate the festive season rush.
“I am here with a team of SANRAL engineers, who have inspected the bridge, and we’ve agreed on a temporary repair that will reopen the bridge at the start of December,” Creecy said.
She said more extensive work would follow next year, explaining that a permanent stabilisation plan is essential to ensure long-term safety for road users.
“Next year, further work will be done. It is quite complicated engineering work that will be done to stabilise the bridge on a permanent basis so that it can then be safe for road users.
“I am told by engineers that even when a solution is being put in place, we will not have another closure such as this one we are experiencing now. We will be able to work on this bridge installing a permanent solution with nighttime closures,” Creecy said.
Sanral acting regional manager for the eastern region Dudley Mbambo, said the damage to the bridge resulted from the “failure of span four of the bridge caused by the malfunctioning of its bearings, particularly the concrete rocker bearing on the east side, and the central bearings”.
“These bearings, which support the bridge deck, are susceptible to excessive vibrations, such as seismic or earthquake loads, which can induce cracking and splitting.”
Responding to questions around the safety of bridges across the country, Sanral’s Mbambo said: “We conduct regular inspections of all our structures, including bridges, as part of our bridge management system. The most recent assessments were completed in February this year for the entire country.”
He added that the Ezimbokodweni River Bridge scored 98% in its last assessment in February and that the bridge failure was due to wear and tear. Mbambo explained that the technology for bridge construction has advanced since the 1960s when concrete bearings with corroding steel bars were used, and that the steel bearings being currently used do not corrode.