Africa-Press – South-Africa. The storms of the past few years have not been kind to South Africa’s bridges and roads, with the collapse of a bridge in McGregor in the Western Cape showing just how integral these structures are to daily life.
Without them, it is almost impossible to keep basic requirements like healthcare, education, or even bread deliveries, going.
Asked what makes a bridge collapse, Stellenbosch University Professor Richard Walls said bridges were designed for water to flow underneath, with some designed to take water flowing over the bridge, too, but extreme conditions could put more pressure than expected on a bridge.
“There’s quite good quality control,” said Walls. But, he added that certain factors can put too much strain on a bridge and set it up to fail.
Bridges blocked by a huge tree pushing against it, a freak “one in 200 years” event, torrents pushing heavily against the walls in a built-up area, or the flood water loosening a small part of the bridge that leads to a greater unravelling, are all factors that contribute to the collapses.
The government’s Welisizwe Rural Bridges Programme ambitiously aims to build 95 bridges a year in rural areas, with the help of South African National Defence Force engineers. In a reply to a question in Parliament, the Department of Public Works said in June that the programme had been able to build 41 bridges since its inception in 2009, but had also been able to complete four in the 2022/23 financial year.
We look at some of the recent damage caused by severe storms:
1. Bridge connecting McGregor to Robertson in the Western Cape
On Monday, the bridge connecting McGregor to Robertson washed away. An EMS helicopter delivered food parcels to at least 80 people, and locals used ladders to climb up and down the remains of the bridge to get to either side.
2. Bot River in the Western Cape
A piece of the bridge at Bot River on the N2 was washed away, leaving a trail of cars and delivery trucks searching for alternate routes, all of which were also clogged with debris and water.
3. Old towns like Franschhoek and Stellenbosch hammered
In many towns, such as Franschhoek and Stellenbosch, sections of road were deeply flooded since Monday, with pieces of concrete being washed around, and weekend break visitors unable to get out and back to work.
4. Citrusdal is cut off
Floods in the Cederberg shut the small town of Citrusdal down when a main road washed away in June. More than 400 residents had to be evacuated from informal settlements in Citrusdal, Wupperthal, Clanwilliam and Lamberts Bay.
5. Durban floods of April 2022 pounded bridges
In April 2022, floods hit Durban and surrounds. At least 435 people died. A passenger rail bridge was also damaged in Illovo.
6. Part of Hendrik Verwoerd Drive in Johannesburg collapses during a storm
In December 2022, several roads collapsed in Johannesburg during heavy rain, including roads already vulnerable due to sinkholes in the proximity.
7. The Ntuzuma bridge collapse, and the death that followed
A bridge in Ntuzuma, KwaZulu-Natal, collapsed during the April 2022 floods, and in 2023, a woman plunged down the ditch in her car in the dark. A reconstruction announcement was made not long after that.
8. The Lupapasi Village bridge collapse
Hundreds of people in Lupapasi Village, which falls under the Emalahleni Local Municipality, were cut off from the town after the main road was damaged and uNgqeqe bridge collapsed on 8 February, GroundUp reported. There were no fatalities.
9: Mbombela bridge washed away
The bridge in Tekwane Road, Mbombela, washed away in February 2021 storms, as shown in this tweet:
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