Construction works on the new Stanford Road Bridge
in Port Elizabeth which commenced in January is well under way and its new
completion date is set for September 2019.
The project, whose tender was originally made
available in 2017 and awarded to LEEK Construction could not begin in October 2018 as initially
planned as a result of tender cancellation and adjournment of the start date.
According to Dave le Roux, assistant site agent
and SMME Manager,
the project began at a low end due to alleged contractual disputes between SANRAL and Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality.
The main objective of the bridge is to install
dedicated bus lanes for the ITPS buses, which are currently driving out of the
older dedicated bus lanes in Stanford Road and joining the main traffic causing
congestion. Stanford Road is the main and only access for the city’s northern
areas.
Upon completion, drivers whose daily commutes take
them over the Stanford Road Bridge will have access to a two-way road with
dedicated bus lanes. Le Roux said that they plan to demolish the current
pedestrian bridge on Stanford Road to make way for a precast concrete
pedestrian bridge. The demolition will take place during the night so as not to
complicate traffic during the day’s peak hours and traffic will be diverted.
During construction, only two lanes will be open for commuters driving towards Korsten and the speed limit has been reduced. There are two SMMEs on site out of the 11 which are part of the project. Two more expected this week and the rest shall follow as well.https://constructionreviewonline.com/2019/05/construction-of-stanford-road-bridge-in-south-africa-nears-completion/
