Move to halt City’s plans to extend Ushaka Pier
INTERESTED parties have until 3 August to submit final written comments on the municipality’s...
Sheffield residents will be pleased to hear that wash-away at the Barrier/Colwyn Drive intersection and the stairs at Christmas Bay are both scheduled for repair. For more than six months a section of the road in Sheffield Beach has been left to deteriorate to the point of partial collapse, leaving motorists at risk.
The Barrier/Colwyn Drive washaway repair has been set for the new financial year.
KwaDukuza municipal spokesman, Sipho Mkhize said the municipality’s project management unit have finished their assessment of the road and repair would be done in the new financial year. In addition, frustrated residents and dog-walkers have not had safe access to Christmas Bay for more than two months. The stairway was damaged by a severe storm in April, potentially undermining the foundation of an adjoining property.
Frank van Niekerk, who lives next to the broken stairs, said that he has given up trying to inform the municipality.
“I spent more than 30 minutes on the phone listening to music while waiting for someone to answer,” he said.
Van Niekerk eventually tried a different department who provided him with the correct contact details. But this also failed, he said.
KwaDukuza municipal spokesperson, Sipho Mkhize confirmed on Tuesday that the Parks, Gardens and Beaches and Civil Engineering Department had visited the site. Damages were assessed and a plan is underway to restore the stairs.
“It is however impossible at this stage to respond to timelines,” he said.
Salt Rock ward councillor, Privi Makhan said that the matter had been brought to the relevant department’s attention in March.
“While the national lockdown did impact immediate repairs from being carried out, public works projects and repairs were allowed from the beginning of level 3.”
Using lockdown as an excuse is simply unacceptable, said councillor Mahkan. “The same applies to the Barrier Lane wash-away. Residents have been putting their lives at risk daily by traveling this road. A collapse is imminent.
“These projects need to be fast tracked and I am engaging with the relevant departments on a weekly basis to get time frames.”