The Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA) has closed the Belgrave River bridge in Ward 103, Bryanston, and restricted pedestrian access on Harrison Street bridge in the Johannesburg CBD with immediate effect.
The closure and restriction is a safety measure to protect road users while work on the bridges is being done.
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Dr Sean Phillips, JRA managing director said, “After consulting with a team of engineers it was recommended that the bridges, in their current state, are unsafe for continuous use by the public. Given the severity of the issues, it was advised that restrictions be placed on access to the Belgrave River and Harrison Street bridges with immediate effect.”
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The Harrison Street bridge, which is 165m long and over 60 years old, requires structural repairs such as reconstructing the parapet wall along the pedestrian sidewalk, which recently collapsed onto the railway track, posing a danger to pedestrians.
The Belgrave River bridge has become notorious for cars that are accidentally driven over the side of the bridge and into the spruit below or cars are washed away during heavy flooding.
“While the JRA is investigating which remedial measures will be implemented to improve safety at the bridge, motorists are urged to obey the bridge’s closure and make use of alternative routes such as Bryanston Drive, to gain access [to] the two areas of Duxberry and Bryanston,” requested Phillips.
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Temporary signs and barricades have been erected on the bridges in accordance with the South African Road Traffic Signs Manual, to alert the public of the closures.
