Despite the progress that has been made in the construction of the much-needed Thembalethu Bridge near George, community leaders and residents are complaining about traffic congestion that has inconvenienced residents' daily lives since the upgrade of the bridge.
This bridge upgrade to ease traffic congestion on the only entrance to Thembalethu, was initiated after motorists and residents complained for years that the traffic jams near the bridge over the N2 caused delays of up to two hours during peak hours.
Early this week, the George Municipality issued a public notice announcing the Thembalethu bridge lane closure and shifting the closure date to January 16 to enable the required construction works to take place.
Langa Langa, Garden Route regional secretary of the South African Communist Party (SACP), and a community leader said although they welcome the upgrade of the bridge, which has been an impasse issue for decades in Thembalethu, the delays have complicated their lives.
"With the shifting of lanes and closure, motorists have been stuck in traffic for more than two hours trying to exit Thembalethu. Now that schools are open, it's even worse, because the road is congested more than before. One has to wake up at 5am to ensure that one arrives at work or school on time. I can only imagine how workers are inconvenienced by this," said Langa.
Langa said some positives come with this project and that while they are experiencing problems with the delays caused by the construction, they don't want to compromise the work of the construction workers, which can result in a faulty bridge in the near future.
DA councillor, Khayalethu Lose said the timing of the lane closure and shifting was very bad because the closure happened at a time when schools were opening.
"We welcome the upgrade of the bridge, however, I think the closure could have been done as early as December, not when schools have opened and the majority of people have come back to work. We just wish the construction company could speed things up," said Lose.
Both Lose and Langa are, however, pleased with the project, saying there hasn't been any conflict of interest as yet between the authorities and locals over the construction of the bridge.
The over R82 million project is a collaborative venture between Sanral and the George Municipality, with Sanral being the implementing agent, working closely with the municipality.
The total construction period is between 24 and 30 months.
According to Sanral, the scope of work for the project involves the widening of the Thembalethu Bridge across the N2 from a single carriageway to accommodate two lanes in each direction, with additional turning lanes as well as extra space for pedestrians and cyclists.
Petronella Theron, Sanral project manager, said the progress on the construction of the bridge is steadily gaining momentum, with 31 local labourers actively working on site and around 20% of the work already completed.
"This is a joint project with the George Municipality and is directly geared to contribute to the economic development of the Southern Cape, through local labour and project participation opportunities for small businesses.
"However, we are concerned about road safety, not only in terms of pedestrians cutting across the construction site, but also in terms of overall pedestrian behaviour, particularly for students at Mzoxolo Primary School, which is located near the interchange," said Theron.
Xolisani Booi from the George Community Forum (GCF) said this project hasn’t lived up to its promises of catering for local small businesses and subcontractors.
"As the GCF, we have fought for many years for this project to start, and we were also under the impression that it will bring major economic benefits for the people of Thembalethu and surrounding areas, especially our small businesses, however, many of us feel left out as some small businesses are yet to get work from Sanral," said Booi.
He said there's no sense of direction, and those who are tasked with liaising and communicating with the community are not giving a clear indication as to how they will address the issue of small businesses that have been knocking on construction companies' doors for work, "instead, they are practising favouritism."
Reacing, Theron said: "Notwithstanding challenges of economic inclusion for as many subcontractors as possible, we continue to make strides in breaking down monopolies and prioritising meaningful transformation in the sector.“
She said the Project Liaison Committee (PLC) remains ever vigilant and present, to ensure fair practices and also to communicate opportunities for project participants to the various communities they represent.
"Capacity development of SMMEs remains high on the agenda, and through its Transformation Unit, Sanral is determined to reach 48 000 SMMEs over the next three years. ACS/Tjeka JV has been appointed to facilitate training with interested and qualifying businesses," she said.