Engineers to complete Amanzimtoti bridge repairs at end of month
Engineers
working on a bridge near Amanzimtoti that has shifted say repairs will be done
by the end of the month.
The Ezimbokodweni Bridge started giving way on Tuesday afternoon.
The affected carriageway has been shut to traffic since.
The road has been barricaded with concrete barriers and is being guarded by metro police.
Road agency SANRAL's Acting Regional Manager Dudley Mbambo says the shift of the 64-year-old bridge was linked to the structure's outdated concrete bearings.
"It’s been an old style of designing, the support between the pier and the depth and it’s built from concrete. And in its design which was done in the 60s that is something that recommend anymore, so it was due to be replaced as part of the upgrade projects that we have."
READ: Road remains closed as engineers continue assessment on N2 bridge
Deputy Minister of Transport Mluleko Hlengwa inspected the site and says the engineers have briefed him on two interventions.
"One at the earliest convenience is to lift the bridge up but above and beyond that the showings we want to give is that there is not damage structure to the bridge."
The closure has caused a kilometres-long traffic backlog on the N2 southbound as cars divert to alternative routes.
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