The fanfare surrounding the opening of the Vereeniging bridge and road by the troubled Mangaung Metro Municipality has been prolonged.
In accordance, frustration continues for road users following yet another postponement.
Work on the road, which started in May 2021, entailed the extension of Vereeniging Road and the construction of a bridge over the interchange.The road connects the south of Bloemfontein, Oliver Tambo Road and the M10 road.
After mounting pressure from the public and political parties that the road be opened to alleviate the traffic congestion being experienced, acting mayor Gregory Nthatisi was initially expected to open the road on Friday (12/05). This was rescheduled to the next day. However, the road is still closed for public use.
The reasons for the indefinite postponement are unknown.
In April last year, Pres. Cyril Ramaphosa, accompanied by a delegation of ministers, visited the project. This was during a presidential imbizo aimed at reviving the collapsed administration of the metro.
He expressed his satisfaction with the significant work that had already been done by the contractor at that stage.
The time frame to complete the multi-million rand road construction project was seven months and the road was expected to open for public use immediately thereafter.
However, the company abandoned the project with minor work still left to complete, resulting in the prolonging of the road’s opening.
Another contractor was appointed to complete the work on the 2,1 km stretch of road. The scope of the workload was to install concrete channel drains along the road, clear rubble, and construct sidewalks or walkways for pedestrians. On Friday, labourers employed by the company were hard at work with the concrete channel drains, while Centlec employees were installing streetlamp poles along the road in question.
The Vereeniging bridge and road construction was launched against the backdrop of campaigning for the 2021 local municipal elections.
- Another contractor is currently in the process of completing construction work on a 3,3 km stretch of Moshoeshoe Street, one of the main arterial roads in Bloemfontein.
This was one of the three-multimillion-rand infrastructure projects the ousted Mangaung Metro Municipality mayor Olly Mlamleli launched during the 2016 local government election.
Construction on Chief Moroka Crescent and Fort Hare Road was completed towards the end 2021.
