Selby Bridge Repairs To Severely Affect Traffic In Johannesburg

Johannesburg motorists will have to choose alternative routes as the M2 motorway between Crown Interchange and Maritzburg Street will be totally closed to allow for bridge rehabilitation.

On Monday, the City of Johannesburg announced that the rehabilitation of Selby bridge will come into effect from Thursday, 28 February, at 6 am and will remain in force up until the end of October 2019.

Parts of the bridge were temporarily closed last year in order to have the bridge rehabilitated. However, inspections have revealed that the structural integrity of the concrete elements is severely reduced, the city said.

“The Johannesburg Roads Agency, which manages the city’s 902 bridges, realised that parts of the support structure have moved, negatively affecting the structural stability of some bridges on the M2 motorway.

“The safety of Selby bridge cannot be guaranteed for continuous use by motorists and thus the decision for a closure of the M2 between Crown Interchange and Maritzburg Street is necessary,” the city explained.

Built in the 1960s, many city bridges are now near the end of their design lifespan, requiring urgent reconstruction and rehabilitation. Thirty-seven bridges were reported to have collapsed during the 2013 rainy seasons alone.

A specialist appointed by the Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA) completed detailed assessments of the affected sections of the bridges. The overall acceptable condition for bridges in a ‘very good’ and ‘good’ condition should be a minimum of 80%. However, currently, 5.77% of city bridges are in this acceptable condition, while a total of 78.38% bridges are in a poor condition.

While repairs are underway, the city has appealed to motorists and residents to be patient as traffic will gridlock.

Detours for motorists during the period of closure will be as follows:

•           The M2 eastbound will be closed between Crown Interchange and Heidelberg Road.

•           No traffic will be allowed to travel eastbound past the Village Road off-ramp at Crown Interchange.

•           Traffic will be allowed to enter the M2 westbound at West Street travelling towards Main Reef Road and the M1 southbound.

•           No access to the M1 northbound from the M2.

–       Heidelberg interchange

•           Traffic will be allowed to enter the M2 eastbound at Heidelberg Road on-ramp or Maritzburg Street on-ramp.

•           The M2 westbound will further be closed between Maritzburg Street off-ramp and Crown Interchange.

•           No traffic will be allowed to travel westbound passed Maritzburg off-ramp.

The following on-ramps will be closed:

1.         Main Reef Road on-ramp onto the M2 eastbound.

2.         M1 approaching from the south, ramp onto the M2 eastbound.

3.         M1 approaching from the north, ramp onto the M2 eastbound.

4.         Simmonds Street on-ramp onto the M2 eastbound.

5.         Eloff Street on-ramp onto the M2 eastbound.

6.         Heidelberg Road on-ramp onto the M2 westbound from the south and the north.

7.         Heidelberg Road on-ramp onto the M2 eastbound from the north.

8.         Wemmer Pan Road on-ramp onto the M2 westbound.

9.         Eloff Street on-ramp onto the M2 westbound.

10.       Booysens Road on-ramp onto the M2 westbound.

11.       M2 on-ramp onto the M1 travelling north.

The following access points will be available to and from the M2:

1.         Village Road off-ramp.

2.         Heidelberg Road northern on-ramp onto the M2 eastbound.

3.         Maritzburg Street off-ramp.

4.         West Street on-ramp onto the M2 travelling west towards Main Reef or south towards Soweto.

For the full breakdown of the routes, visit www.joburg.org.za.

SAnews.gov.za