Two months after the April floods, repairs to damaged roadways and a bridge on the Hansdettman Highway in Northdene in the eThekwini Municipality in KwaZulu-Natal have begun.
The repairs are expected to be complete by the end of the week.
They have been a collaboration between local businesses and the Pompeni River Bridge project team.
The team is made up of residents from Shallcross and surrounding communities that have come together to rebuild their areas.
Team spokesperson Marcus Richards says, ” We met, we planned, we strategized , we asked them to then set up a trust fund, collect money from neighbouring businesses. One of the first guys that came by was the owner of the Sasol garage Zubair on Hans Dettman Highway. Then the project started. We came together to form a joint venture and then we started sourcing machinery, personnel including our guys.”
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In May, Public Works Minister Patricia de Lille said her department will begin the process of building over 50 bridges in KwaZulu-Natal and 20 in the Eastern Cape.
During her budget speech in Parliament, De Lille said more assessments were being conducted to help rebuild damaged infrastructure.
“The total in KwaZulu-Natal has increased to 52 and in the Eastern Cape, there is an extra 20 bridges. That is what we are working on. We have done technical assessments in the Eastern Cape of the 20 bridges. In KwaZulu-Natal, we are starting with the first 18 bridges on 1 June.”
