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Residents of Kaalfontein will now enjoy safer passage following the opening of the newly constructed Kaalfontein Pedestrian Bridge between extensions 2 and 5 within Ward 92 in Region A.
The project got underway in May 2018 and it was officially opened by the Executive Mayor of the City of Johannesburg, Cllr Herman Mashaba, who took the time to address local residents.
Mayor Mashaba thanked residents for not disrupting construction and asked that they look after the bridge and all other infrastructure built by the government so that they could leave a legacy for their children. “It costs the City millions to construct the bridge. Look after it because it’s your property. Do not allow anyone to vandalise it.”
Member of the Mayoral Committee for Transport Cllr Nonhlanhla Makhuba said: “We’ve just kicked off the 2019 Transport Month. This is a programme nationally observed and as a City of Johannesburg, we will be having a number of activities throughout October to highlight and celebrate transport-related issues. Today, we are once again in this region to open another pedestrian bridge to allow the community of Kaalfontein better mobility and access to services. This bridge that we are opening today will serve to provide easy access to community amenities such as school, shops and health facilities. This is an achievement that must be celebrated.”
The Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA) identified a need to construct a pedestrian bridge in Kaalfontein over a river as the area is built up with schools and residential buildings. The pedestrian bridge is 102 metres long with a width of 3.5 metres.
Project Manager Siyabonga Genu said: “There are still some things to do, namely installing street lights which we aim to complete by next week. The bridge is here to improve mobility for the community, to connect the two communities, which was difficult before due to rain. We do not want taxi drivers making use of this route to connect to the other side, due to the fact that it is strictly designed for pedestrians. It took about 16 months to complete the project, which includes the road we are standing on and we are happy with the community and councillor, who engaged with us throughout the lifespan of the project.”
The key highlights of this project are the number of jobs created and skills transferred. A total of 34 local EPWP participants and a minimum of four sub-contractors were engaged.
