Durban — Specialist engineers are at the Ezimbokodweni River Bridge on the N2 which has been closed due to a failure following the weekend’s heavy rains in KwaZulu-Natal.
This was according to the South African National Roads Agency SOC Limited (Sanral) in a brief statement.
Sanral said that following the heavy rains this past weekend in parts of KwaZulu-Natal, the Umbogintwini (Ezimbokodweni) River Bridge on the N2 experienced a failure which resulted in road closure.
Sanral’s marketing and communications general manager Vusi Mona said: “Sanral specialist engineers are currently on site to assess the extent of the damage and remedial action to be taken. The southbound carriageway over the bridge has been closed from Joyner Road and vehicles are being diverted to alternative routes.”
Mona advised motorists to be cautious when approaching the area.
Also commenting on the incident, KZN Department of Transport and Human Settlements MEC Siboniso Duma said the Road Traffic Inspectorate briefed him about the management of traffic flow following the incident.
He said he has also been in constant contact with Transport Minister Barbara Creecy as the executive authority responsible for the Sanral. Creecy has assured him a team from Sanral is managing the matter since the bridge falls under the entity.
“We recall that the minister was in the province weeks ago, together with Sanral to monitor the upgrade of N2 and N3 with a budget of R50 billion,” Duma said.
“We continue to interact with the minister to accelerate the repair, maintenance and construction of our roads and bridges.”
At midday, social media was flooded with pictures and videos of the bridge collapse in the south of Durban.
According to several social media posts, before 12pm, the N2 southbound bridge across Ezimbokodweni River at the Amanzimtoti Golf Course, after the Joyner Road on-ramp at the bottom of Twini Hill collapsed.
As a result, the N2 southbound bridge was closed and traffic was diverted along alternative routes. Additionally, motorists were urged to plan accordingly and to exercise caution.
In some of the photographs and videos, the Durban Metro Police Service was seen directing traffic.
It was also reported that traffic was at a standstill, in both directions, on Prospecton Road.
In one of the videos, the man behind the camera shows where the bridge has ‘split’. He says that from Tuesday the road cannot be used. If you are crossing to Galleria, it is inaccessible.
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Daily News