Local businesses along the N12 freeway near Eldorado Park can now breathe a sigh of relief as the East Road Bridge has been re-opened.
The Gauteng Department for Roads and Transport has repaired the East Road Bridge at a cost of R10 million.
The department said the closure of the bridge negatively affected the businesses in the area. As a result of the closure, traffic had to be diverted through other routes, which proved to be costly and time consuming.
Gauteng MEC for Roads and Transport, Ismail Vadi re-opened the bridge on Monday.
According to the department, the 60-year-old bridge was structurally damaged when a truck carrying a load exceeding the permissible height restrictions hit its top structure, rendering nearly half of the bridge completely unsafe.
The severe damage led to the closure of the bridge as it posed serious risk to motorists and pedestrians.
“The damage to this bridge is another example of how overloading of freight trucks and disregard for height restrictions continue to cause untold damage to our road infrastructure,” MEC Vadi said.
The MEC has called on all motorists, especially drivers and owners linked to the freight truck industry, to respect the rules of the road at all times as this not only damages road infrastructure but poses a serious risk to other road users. – SAnews.gov.za
