An unfinished R66 million bridge project over the Umdloti River in the Ogunjini area, Verulam has left residents with a dangerous road and many unanswered questions.
The construction started in 2016 but to date it has not been completed as the company contracted by the provincial transport department to do the work failed to meet its contractual obligations.
Ward 59 councillor, Chris Langa, said the provincial transport department had selected a company which had not met the criteria for the project. “It is very sad that the residents suffer because of government’s incompetence. It is clear that thousands of pupils would have to continue risking their lives by crossing the dangerous bridge in order to receive an education,” he said. Angry residents said no work had been done on the foundation of the unfinished bridge since 2018 and that over 2000 people, including pupils were using the unsafe bridge to cross the dangerous river.
The current bridge has no barricades and residents claimed that many people had been swept away by floods while trying to cross the bridge during heavy rains. A resident, Nana Mthembu, said there was no indication of any forthcoming answers from government officials about the construction of the new bridge.
“Lots of people in the community lost their jobs when the project was halted. Most of them are still unemployed. It has been over two years and still we do not know what happened,”
she said. Mthembu believes that the bridge is a disaster waiting to happen. She said during heavy rains children could not go to school for up to a week until the water levels subsided. “I urge government to complete the unfinished bridge for our safety.”
Another resident, Muzi Khanyile said the project had created jobs for many people. “I am disappointed that it came to a halt. The current crossing gets flooded when there is heavy rain. I think this bridge was built as a temporary solution in the first place,” he said.
Khanyile was hoping that the new bridge would be safer. “We have complained about the issue to the provincial transport department for a long time yet nothing has been done. I believe that when the project resumes they will employ local residents,” he said. Kwanele Ncalane, spokesperson for the provincial transport department, confirmed that the company contracted to construct the bridge could not complete the job. Ncalane said a new contract was to be awarded to another company for the bridge construction to resume.
“The contractor could not meet the contract specifications and this led to a breach of contract. Due to no progress on site despite the departmental intervention, the contract was terminated,” he said. Ncalane said the department would re-advertise the contract for another supplier to complete the unfinished work. “Once construction commences, work on the bridge is expected to take 12 months. The process normally takes approximately six months for the contract to be awarded and another 42 days to get a permit to resume work,” he added.
