Support road.cc

Like this site? Help us to make it better.

Two killed as temporary cycling and walking bridge collapses in South Africa

Structure at location of planned new bridge is on route used by 10,000 people on foot and bike each day

A temporary bridge for cyclists and pedestrians across one of the busiest highways in Africa has collapsed in Johannesburg, South Africa, this afternoon, killing two people and injuring more than 20.

Scaffolding supporting the bridge, where construction began earlier this year, is thought to have been made unstable by gusts of wind causing it to crash onto the M1 highway beneath and on vehicles being driven on it.

On its Twitter feed, the City of Johannesburg said: “Engineers suspect that a gust of wind in the area led to the accident.”

It subsequently stressed that other potential causes are being explored and added: “The scaffolding fell on the front part of a minibus taxi while a private vehicle was completely covered by the scaffolding.”

There is no news as yet of cyclists or pedestrians being among the casualties.

Construction began earlier this year on a new R130 million (£6 million) bridge to serve the 10,000 people who walk or cycle the 5 kilometres and back each day from the Alexandra township to Sandton’s Central Business District in what is known locally as “the Great Walk.”

When the project, due for completion next year, was first announced, mayoral committee member for transport, Christine Walters, said: “Our objective is to create better connections between different modes of public transport – buses, trains and taxis – and to vigorously promote the concepts of walking and cycling through the provision of safe and accommodating infrastructure for all Joburgers.”

The city is currently hosting the EcoMobility World Festival which runs throughout October and which last week included a ‘Freedom Ride’ in memory of Nelson Mandela in which 4,000 cyclists took part and a Road Safety Family Day in Sandton, which saw a festival atmosphere as its main road was closed to traffic.

Latest Comments

 
Logo

Looks like your ad blocker is on.

×

We rely on ads to keep creating quality content for you to enjoy for free.

You can subscribe to road.cc to support us and turn off ads for good

Continue without supporting us

Choose your Ad Blocker

  • Adblock Plus
  • Adblock
  • Adguard
  • Ad Remover
  • Brave
  • Ghostery
  • uBlock Origin
  • uBlock
  • UltraBlock
  • Other
  1. In the extension bar, click the AdBlock Plus icon
  2. Click the large blue toggle for this website
  3. Click refresh
  1. In the extension bar, click the AdBlock icon
  2. Under "Pause on this site" click "Always"
  1. In the extension bar, click on the Adguard icon
  2. Click on the large green toggle for this website
  1. In the extension bar, click on the Ad Remover icon
  2. Click "Disable on This Website"
  1. In the extension bar, click on the orange lion icon
  2. Click the toggle on the top right, shifting from "Up" to "Down"
  1. In the extension bar, click on the Ghostery icon
  2. Click the "Anti-Tracking" shield so it says "Off"
  3. Click the "Ad-Blocking" stop sign so it says "Off"
  4. Refresh the page
  1. In the extension bar, click on the uBlock Origin icon
  2. Click on the big, blue power button
  3. Refresh the page
  1. In the extension bar, click on the uBlock icon
  2. Click on the big, blue power button
  3. Refresh the page
  1. In the extension bar, click on the UltraBlock icon
  2. Check the "Disable UltraBlock" checkbox
  1. Please disable your Ad Blocker
  2. Disable any DNS blocking tools such as AdGuardDNS or NextDNS

If the prompt is still appearing, please disable any tools or services you are using that block internet ads (e.g. DNS Servers).

Logo