Another accident on Sand River Bridge

March 17, 2012

A car went airborne on the temporary Sand River Bridge last night after the driver lost control of the vehicle when it hit sand.

The car bounced back on the road and finally rolled.

The bridge over the Sand River following the floods last year

The 21 year-old student driving the Polo Player was unharmed. He and the owner of the vehicle, also a student were on holiday in St Francis. They are believed to be students in Cape Town, have family in St Francis and hail from KwaZulu Natal.

Both were not seriously harmed – just cuts and scratches, according to witnesses. The vehicle, however was a write-off and was towed away.

The accident happened at about 7.45 pm.

It is believed the driver was approaching the bridge from the Humansdorp side quite fast when he did not manoeuvre the sharp bend to the right in time. The vehicle then hit the sand bank on the edge of the river where the old bridge is, went airborne and landed on the road.

There is no proper barrier along the sides of the Sand River Bridge despite repeated calls for more safety measures (such as barriers and more signage) to be installed there.

There have been at least seven known accidents at the bridge since the previous bridge washed away and a second temporary bridge suffered the same fate in July last year. In two of the accidents the luxury 4x4s ploughed into the river – one 4×4 was worth R1-million. The drivers miraculously escaped injury – it’s believed the airbags saved them.

The Sand River Bridge was washed away twice in two weeks in July last year following heavy rainfalls and floods from storm waters. Both times St Francis residents were almost completely marooned until temporary bridges were rebuilt. The R330 road that traverses the river is the only access road to the town and village of St Francis Bay and Cape St Francis respectively.

The Provincial Department of Roads is responsible for the repair of the bridge – and not the Kouga Municipality. A new permanent bridge can only be built after an EIA is complete… and this could take many months – even a year, some speculate.

Source: St Francis Chronicle

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No new bridge for St Francis Bay

September 13, 2011

There is no quick fix for the Sand River Bridge as the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process is going to take a long time.

This was said yesterday by Marius Keyser of the Provincial Roads Department. Keyser said: “The EIA will be a time consuming effort. There are too many factors involved and owing to the sensitivity of these there is no easy remedy or solution of a permanent bridge being built soon”.

How long will the bridge over the Sand River last? Photo: St Francis Chronicle

This means that the thousands of visitors, including youngsters coming here for the New Year’s eve parties will need to cross this second temporary bridge across the Sand River. Though more sturdy than its predecessor it is already showing some signs of strain.

The Sand River was washed away twice in two weeks during July this year, following heavy rainfalls and floods from storm waters. In both instances St Francis residents were almost completely marooned until temporary bridges were rebuilt as the R330 road that traverses the river is the only access road to St Francis Bay and Cape St Francis respectively.

Asked about the current poor status of the second temporary bridge that could worsen with the hordes of visitors to St Francis this approaching festive season, Keyser advised that the Roads Department is going to increase the safety of the causeway. This follows a motor accident last month when a car ploughed into the Sand River one night. The four passengers narrowly escaped serious harm, but the car was badly damaged.

“In the next two months we are going to increase the visibility of signage and the markings on the road. Plus we will grade the road before season,” he said

As for lighting at the bridge and poor visibility at night, he said the municipality should be approached to put lights at the crossing over the Sand River– “lighting is their responsibility.”

Then on being told that vehicles weighing more than the restricted limit of 10 tonnes are crossing the bridge regularly, thus damaging the bridge, Keyser said this matter should be taken up with the Humansdorp Traffic Department and the Department of Transport in Port Elizabeth for them to police.

Source: St Francis Chronicle

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More rain and bigger potholes for J’Bay

August 15, 2011

The rain over the weekend has caused more potholes in the roads of Jeffreys Bay, with roads in all the suburbs being affected.

While the Kouga Municipality has tried to fix some of the potholes using cement, it is clear that this is a short term solution to the problem.

Some of the roads in Aston Bay were totally under water.

St Francis Bay has decided to start a fund to repair their own roads as the residents of the village feel they cannot wait any longer for the Municipality to sort out the problem.

Despite concerns about the Sand River bridge over the weekend, motorists were able to cross, under the watchful eye of the Kouga Traffic officers.

Nearly 200 mm of rain fell in Cape St Francis in July and the dams in the catchment areas are now full and overflowing. However, many residents are concerned that the roads are not receiving the necessary attention.

Despite the pot holes, Sand River bridge remained in place over the weekend. Photo: St Francis Chronicle

The Jeffreys Bay Residents Association has called for the townsfolk to also fix the potholes themselves.

“The costs of adequately repairing a pothole are not high, particularly compared to the costs of the damage they cause.  Residents could easily establish a pothole fund, purchase materials, arrange labourers to fill them.

This could be setup within days, given the necessary support from the residents.  Then we can debate whether contributions to this fund are deductible from rates”, said Trevor Watkins, the chairman of the JBRA.

Koraal Street, St Francis Street, Dolphin Drive and Johan Muller Boulevard are particularly badly affected with the roads in a very serious state.

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Watch how St Francis Bay bridge collapses for the second time

July 30, 2011

Linda Collison has once again captured some epic footage of the disaster at St Francis Bay where residents have been marooned for nearly an entire week.

The second temporary bridge over the Sand River, St Francis Bay

Watch how the temporary bridge gets washed away by flood water and how the rescue services build a foot bridge over the Sand River.

It was also business as usual as tons of fresh fish were carried over the river for export to the European markets.

St Francis Bay was connected to the outside world again yesterday afternoon and the new bridge has a weight limit on 10 tons.

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St Francis Bridge collapses for second time

July 27, 2011

The residents of the coastal village of St Francis Bay were cut off from the rest of the world for the second time this month after the temporary bridge collapsed following heavy rain.

The Sand River crossing

Repair work is expected to start on the bridge today and it is hoped that vehicles will be able to cross the Sand River by tomorrow.

The Kouga Municipality has estimated that there is R 87 million in damage to roads and infrastructure in the Kouga following the floods experienced this month.

St Francis Bay cut off following more flooding.

Roads all over Kouga have been closed or destroyed, with Oyster Bay being totally cut off with Paradise Beach and Aston bay also experiencing severe flooding.

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Foot crossing over river for St Francis residents

July 8, 2011

A foot crossing built across the Sand River by volunteers and under the supervision of the disaster management team of Kouga Municipality. St Francis Bay residents are now able to cross the flooded river.

Jamie Loods heads across the Sand River.

Early this morning workers were walking across the new foot bridge. From yesterday evening more than 400 people waded through the icy water of the river to get to the other side. They held on to a rope and were aided by officials and volunteers under spotlights.

The Roads Department will be involved today and it is planned to have at least one vehicle lane across the Sand River built today.

In the interim, delivery trucks of food supplies have to stop on the Humansdorp side of the Sand River and the boxes and crates of supplies will have to be carried across the foot crossing.

Shops in St Francis Bay envisage shortage of supplies already. The petrol station is only supplying R50 per vehicle (enough to get to Humansdorp when one vehicle lane bridge is built). SuperSpar is also going to limit the number of supplies per person for certain goods.

Source: St Francis Chronicle

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