The City of Cape Town is carrying out urgent repairs along Jakes Gerwel Drive between Bofors Circle and the N2 near Bonteheuwel due to illegal tunnelling and digging by people suspected of living under the Bonteheuwel Bridge.

Lanes closed

The City’s mayoral committee member for urban mobility, Rob Quintas, announced that two lanes will be closed for the rest of the week. “These lanes will be closed until the repairs have been concluded. Road users should anticipate delays and congestion along this section of Jakes Gerwel, and consider using alternative routes if possible. We apologise for the inconvenience and appreciate your patience. Any person who sees people digging under bridges must report this immediately to the City’s call centre,” says Quintas.

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Bonteheuwel ward councillor Angus McKenzie says the tunnelling is unrelated to housing problems.. “The people who dig the tunnels are people who choose not to live at home because of social problems. In many instances these people have safe places to go to, but they refuse to go there. Some have also been offered alternative places to stay, but they refused. Some of them are involved in criminal activity,” says McKenzie.

Two years ago

According to McKenzie, the same problem occurred about two years ago. “The last time this happened, we offered to relocate the people under the bridge. Unfortunately, when you relocate them and put them into the safe spaces, they find their way back to these places. Some individuals were unwilling to live under rules, even within their own family homes. One finds overwhelmingly that these people don’t want to live under some level of rules, even in their own families’ homes,” he says.

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