Repairs to the N7 bridge between the N1 and Frans Conradie Drive in Cape Town will take several months and the bridge will remain closed for at least the next 24 hours, a city official said on Tuesday.
Structural supports are being put in place to allow for traffic on the bridge’s eastern span, acting media manager Charles Cooper said in a statement.
Significant work still had to be completed to safely manage bi-directional, single-lane traffic flow across the span.
Traffic would need to cross the median of the N7 at two points, and the heavy nature and speed of the flow on the N7 necessitated considerable preparations, he said.
”Under the circumstances, authorities are being forced to keep the N7 closed for at least another 24 hours.
”Road users are requested to be patient and wherever possible use alternative routes.”
A project team consisting of Spoornet, the public works department, the city, and the provincial government was being constituted to deal with a recovery plan for the bridge.
”The full re-opening of the bridge will in all likelihood take several months,” he said.
The bridge was damaged in a fire in a squatter settlement underneath it on Monday. — Sapa