Business and residents living between the KwaZulu-Natal south coast and Durban are holding their breath to see what impact the damage to the Ezimbokodweni River bridge will have on tourism ahead of the festive season.
This despite expedited efforts to repair it and an indication the road might be open at the beginning of December.
A section of the bridge located on the busy N2 south near the Joyner Road off-ramp in Amanzimtoti partially collapsed on November 4 after heavy rains.
After an emergency assessment, roads agency Sanral recommended the closure of the N2 between Joyner Road and Dickens Road and for traffic to be diverted to the R102.
That disrupted traffic flow along Durban’s south coast route — which also connects KZN to the Eastern Cape — and has caused huge traffic delays.
“The impact has been absolutely devastating with commuters reporting delays of four hours in the afternoon on a journey that would normally take 40 minutes. It has taken authorities a week to implement an adaptable traffic management plan which should in fact have been put in place immediately, given that this is certainly not the first nor last disaster to affect the area,” eThekwini executive committee member and ward 66 (Amanzimtoti) councillor Andre Beetge told TimesLIVE Premium.
The delays have also sparked fears that this incident could impede on business, and tourism in particular, since it happened so close to the December holidays.
“As the festive season approaches, this disruption will further impact tourism — a key economic driver for eThekwini. Tourists visiting Durban, many of whom stay in Amanzimtoti while travelling to popular areas like Umhlanga, will face significant detours and delays. This is an additional blow to the tourism industry, which has already been facing challenges,” said Allison Schoeman, deputy chairperson of eThekwini United Ratepayers Business and Civics Organisation.
Petra Rickson of the Umtentweni Ratepayers Association in the south coast said: “This will affect everybody seriously, especially with the December holidays coming up. We’ve had enough problems over the years down here with water issues and flooding. It would be a real setback for us when we’re just trying to recover and get the tourists down here because we need them back.”
This is the time that most of the tourism establishments make their money. As far as the chamber is concerned, this is not a very acceptable situation that we find ourselves in.
— Dick Basday, president of the south coast Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Dick Basday, president of the south coast Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said delays would have a “drastic effect” on the tourism industry in a region that depends heavily on that income.
“This is the time that most of the tourism establishments make their money. As far as the chamber is concerned, this is not a very acceptable situation that we find ourselves in.”
On Friday, President Cyril Ramaphosa inspected the bridge. He was joined by transport minister Barbara Creecy, who assured him that a short-term emergency solution had been identified that would result in the road being opened by the start of December.
“The plan going forward is that there will be a temporary repair done, which will allow the bridge to be opened from the beginning of December for the festive season. We've decided, together with Sanral, that we need a short-term solution, particularly as we know that this road is going to be carrying very heavy southbound traffic during the festive season,” said Creecy.
Beetge said he had been in discussions with Sanral representatives who told stakeholders on Monday there was a commitment to have conduct temporary repairs and have the roadway open by the end of November.
“Following inspection of the bridge structure, Sanral is confident that it has sufficient information and resources available to support and sustain a temporary repair to the bridge structure that could see the road usable by November 29, possibly even earlier if weather permits.”
That would be the first of three phases for the repairs. The second and third phases, set to commence in the first half of 2025, would see more permanent repairs being done but with minimal interruption to traffic flow.
Sanral CEO Reginald Demana said the bridge had been built more than 64 years ago using old technology, so now they will replace the collapsed bearings with modern technology.
“As a temporary solution, we are going to use hydraulic jacks to lift the deck back to the same level as the other decks. We will then reopen to traffic. While traffic is moving, we will work on a permanent solution, which is to manufacture steel bearings that will be inserted inside the deck and the pillars.”
Rickson said residents welcomed the news of accelerated repairs.
“It would be of great help because the tourism industry relies on the traffic coming down through Durban because it’s the only road to get down to the south coast. If the tourists had to take another route it would take them much longer and be far more expensive so if they can expedite temporary repairs to that bridge it would certainly help us down here.”
Dasday, however, was not as optimistic. He suggested this could have been avoided if the department of transport used the money it’s allocated by the treasury appropriately.
“Why is the money not being utilised appropriately to schedule proper, regular maintenance to all this infrastructure that is so old. They should have a history of how old these infrastructures are, schedule regular maintenance, we would like to know what is happening around there.”
He also questioned the quality and accuracy of Sanral’s results that the bridge received a 98% pass mark in a detailed inspection undertaken in February.
“There must be something wrong with their testing. What kind of testing are they doing? Are they using efficient people to do the testing of the infrastructure? We’d like to see that February report as business and who it was carried out by? The whole thing doesn’t augur very well for anybody.”
He indicated that he would use a “wait and see” approach about there being adequate plans to resolve the matter expeditiously.
“I’m not holding my breath because history tells us that government departments do temporary work and forget about it, only to come back when there is a problem again. They like putting out fires rather than actually planning properly. That is the notion that business has of government departments these days, unfortunately.”
South Coast Tourism and Investment Enterprise is more optimistic.
CEO Vusumuzi Sibiya said: “Authorities are working to have the bridge repaired as soon as possible, which could be as early as the end of November. During this time of repair, alternative travel routes are open to ensure visitors can still get to their KZN south coast destinations.”
“These short detours bypass this section, after which all the traffic routes are clear, with major roads such as Marine Drive enjoying a multimillion-rand upgrade that improves accessibility to the KZN south coast.”
“Despite this closure, the region is looking forward to a bumper festive season following the announcement that it has, once again, earned the title of the highest number of Blue Flag beaches in the province. This is further boosted by the extensive tourist offerings from nature-based excursions and heritage tours to extreme adventures and immaculate golf courses.”
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