The access road leading up from Clarence Drive to Steenbras Dam in Gordon’s Bay will remain shut until well into the new year.
It has remained closed since last December and will most probably be reopened only in March.
Zahid Badroodien, Mayoral Committee member for Water and Sanitation, confirmed this week it is unlikely the access road will be re-opened by the festive season, as was previously communicated (“Steenbras access road remains closed”, DistrictMail & Helderberg Gazette, 10 May).
“The City has initiated the design-feasibility stage of the final part of the project following which the actual repair will then be executed,” said Badroodien. “There were three points along the access road that were severely damaged.”
Two of these sites have since been repaired (gabions were erected) and one site is still being planned.
Helderberg locals, avid walkers and hikers as well as those who frequent the viewpoint at the top of the road are all dismayed at the lengthy time it is taking for the repair work to be concluded and the road re-opened.
It was closed in December last year due to floods that also damaged the R44 (Clarence Drive) at the time (“Thunderstorm causes flooding, wreaks havoc with infrastructure”,13 December 2022).
“As a local resident who frequently used to walk up the road before the road’s closure, it is very worrisome that no repair work, it seems, is being carried out at the only remaining damaged section found higher up.”
The total distance of the road from the bottom to the top is 3,4 km. The last remaining damaged section is 1 km from the top, which means the bottom 2,4 km stretch of the road has been repaired.
“I understand vehicles cannot, in the meantime, be allowed up this already repaired 2,4 km stretch of road, as it will be difficult and unsafe for a vehicle to turn,” asked one local, Werner Smit.
“But why can’t cyclists, walkers and runners, in the meantime, be allowed up the repaired 2,4 km stretch of road (or at the very least to the hairpin bend situated at 1,5 km from the bottom of the road), while the repairs to the last damaged section higher up the road is taking place.
“The City has previously invested in informative signage, which can still be found at the parking area at the top viewpoint, and so has the Lions Club in a ‘view finder’ at this position, as the road is seen as a scenic drive and a tourist destination in Gordon’s Bay.
“But because of autocratic decision-making by certain officials concerned, pedestrians and cyclists are not allowed to use the road.
“There are many local residents who share my sentiment and concerns.”
Another local who frequented the road is Danie Pienaar, an architect who has lived in the Strand for 40 years. He explained that for the past 20 years hundreds of hikers used mainly the mountain road (access road to Steenbras) as their preferred training route and hiked it at least three times a week.
He said: “I will not believe the story of ‘construction work’ unless they allow me on that road. How come buses and tanker-trucks go up to the plant every day?
“I need to see if that is true to calm down hordes of people who are not happy that our road has been taken from us.”
Badroodien reiterated that the remaining repair site will require specialist engineering advice and will unfortunately take a bit longer with the envisaged date of completion now March 2024.
In response to questions of whether the appointment of guards was an additional expense for the City, Badroodien confirmed the guards are generally stationed at the entrance to the water treatment plant/dam access point, and hence there is no additional cost to security.
It is only their work instruction that has changed.
Asked why cyclists, walkers and runners can’t in the meantime be allowed up the repaired 2,4 km stretch of road whilst the repairs to the last damaged section higher up the road is taking place, he replied it will be more difficult to patrol and control the public if they have some access (or parking) availability higher up the access road.
According to locals it is public knowledge that a City employee who works at the top of the road and resides in one of the City owned houses at the bottom of the road is doing everything possible to prevent the public from using the road.
“Approximately R1,1 million was spent in the last financial year on the repair of points one and two,” said Badroodien.
“The cost of repair for point three will depend on the design and the repair will also depend on budget availability.”
