Johannesburg's M2 bridge to be closed for structural repairs

The M2 motorway between Crown Interchange and Maritzburg Street will be closed from Thursday February 28, to allow for bridge rehabilitation to resume, City of Johannesburg mayor Herman Mashaba announced on Monday.

The motorway will remain completely closed until the end of October this year.

Mashaba told a news briefing that the M2 eastbound was closed last year in October and it had just been established that the westbound infrastructure had shifted, so now the motorway had been completely shut.

Motorists using the busy Booysens, Main Reef, Simmonds and Heidelburg routes are among those who will be affected, as the on-ramps will be closed.

This comes after Mashaba raised concerns last year over the stability of the Karzene and Selby sections of the M2 bridge, which posed a threat to road users. The Kaserne bridge has been closed since last year due to major cracks.

The Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA) previously flagged its concern that of the 902 bridges managed by the city, only 6% were in good condition.

It said the remaining 94% needed immediate intervention.

A staggering R6.5bn is needed to refurbish all the city's bridges - money the city does not have, according to Mashaba.

TimesLIVE reported last year that the city was facing an overall R170bn infrastructure backlog and that the bridges on the M2 were of particular concern.