THE R41,9 million reconstruction of a culvert bridge project in Zola, Soweto, has left community members angry.
Zola community members have demanded a stop to the project after a sod-turning event on Wednesday, 18 October, on Maphumulo Street.
The Joburg Roads Agency (JRA) hosted the event.
The sod-turning event celebrated the start of the project after it was damaged when the Klip River flooded during the 2017-2018 rainy season.
According to the JRA, the culvert diverts the river under Maphumulo Street, which connects the communities of Zola North, Zola South and the northern and southern portions of Jabulani.
Community leader Andrew Tyolo said they were not happy with the handling of the project.
"We're going to stop the project until things are done correctly. By this, I mean transparency. We want to know who the main contractor will hire and how those people will be hired. We expect the community to benefit from this," said Andrew.
Ward Committee leader Bongiwe Phetshana said the community didn’t know anything about the project.
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The JRA's head of department, Kwazelela Mcetywa, said the gathering aimed at officially kick-starting the project.
"We're going to be upgrading the culvert structure. Whenever it rains, motorists can’t use this road because it gets flooded with water because the bridge structure is not adequate to cater for the flow of the water due to the small size of the existing pipes.
"We've conducted a design for a bigger structure, and flooding will be eliminated," he said.
JRA acting CEO Zweli Nyathi said they're pleased this essential bridging structure between the communities is receiving remedial attention.
"We look forward to the reopening of this section of Maphumulo Road in nine months' time," he said.
Nyathi said the reconstruction work includes the installation of new culvert structures, gabion earth retaining structures and erosion protection along the watercourse and the reinstatement of road layers, signage, road markings and guard rails over the newly rehabilitated culvert.
Concerning the fighting community, JRA acknowledged that the fight took place in their presence and said they would meet the community members to clear the misunderstanding and ensure that everyone was on the same page so that the project could continue as planned.
