Bridge over R44 on schedule for December
Published in the District Mail on 25 July 2003

Work on the new R44 bridge that will significantly improve the flow of traffic exiting the Somerset Mall is well on schedule for completion by December.

The infrastructure is an integral part of the AECI macro plan that will eventually establish an activity spine linking Somerset West and Macassar. The R12 million project is funded by Heartland Properties, the property arm of AECI and is being handled by Power Construction’s roads division.

The new three-lane bridge will allow Mall shoppers to drive staright from the Mall back onto the R44 towards Stellenbosch or to access the Interchange light industrial development to the west of the R44. The bridge is expected to unleash the full potential of Heartland’s various projects around the Mall. Without the bridge, The Triangle, Heartland’s commercial node, can attain approximately 60 percent of the capacity its been designed for. The bridge will allow it and the Interchange to achieve 100% of their design capacity.

The construction of the bridge is the first phase of a two-phase project. The second phase will see the doubling of the works and will include the construction  of a new off-ramp from the R44 to the Mall. Phase II will be implemented once a traffic impact assessment necessitates it. Last week provincial and local government representatives visited the site for an update on the progress of work. They were told that work has been progressing smoothly, without major complaints from the public or disruptions to traffic flows. The new intersection in front of the Mall has been completed during off-peak time, safely out of the school holiday period. Earthworks are ahead of time due to the dry winter.

The bridge decks will be cast in September and the bridge should be completed by December 12. The biggest threat to the project is yet to arise, though in that temporary supports will be erected in the centre of the double lanes of the R44 while the bridge deck is under construction.
Should a motorist collide with one of these temporary supports, disaster will unfold. The public is requested to respect the temporary speed restrictions and to drive cautiously near the bridge.