The South African National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral), together with the King Sabata Dalindyebo (KSD) local municipality, in the Eastern Cape, have conducted an intergovernmental site assessment of the R411 road between Viedgesville and Coffee Bay, to evaluate progress on emergency repairs.

The road is a major entry point for tourists into the town.

The emergency repairs relate mostly to potholes, which started in November last year.

Building on the work of the original contractor, Rainbow Civils, another contractor, Razzmatazz, was appointed in May to assess the extent of damage to three bridges that collapsed along the road, after floods hit Coffee Bay in March.

Rainbow Civils focused on pothole repairs, drainage systems, edge build-up removal and construction of edge beams where required on the road.

The appointment of Razzmataz has ushered in the appointment of four local small and medium-sized enterprises as subcontractors. This contract is expected to create up to 45 job opportunities.

The R411 Viedgesville to Coffee Bay road was transferred from a provincial road to Sanral’s portfolio in August last year.

When Sanral took over the 75-km-long stretch of road, the first 30 km of the road was in a fair condition, with isolated potholes, while the remainder of the road was in a bad condition.

The original pothole and related road repairs are on track to be completed by the end of August, while the bridges will be repaired by May next year.

KSD councillor Ziyanda Nokayi has implored Sanral to see how best it can enhance the deviation road that the municipality constructed after the floods, as this will be used in the interim while the Nenga Bridge is being repaired.

In turn, Sanral southern regional manager Mbulelo Peterson points to a prevailing challenge with bridge structures  across the Eastern Cape province that experience clogging by debris and tree logs, which lead to flooding and washing away of bridges.

He vows that once Sanral starts working on the bigger project to reconstruct the Coffee Bay road in the next three to four years, the three bridges will be assessed and be considered for reconstruction, depending on the outcome of the assessment.