Question NW3421 to the Minister of Transport
10 November 2017 - NW3421
Figlan, Mr AM to ask the Minister of Transport
With reference to the bridge over the N3 that collapsed in August 2017, (a) what was the cost of the repair, (b) on what dates were inspections of the bridge undertaken in the past three financial years, (c) what did each respective report reflect, (d) who prepared the reports respectively, (e) (i) on what date was the report on the August 2017 collapse finalised, (ii) what did the report reflect and (iii) who prepared the report and (f) what early warning systems have been put in place before any bridge collapses?
Reply:
a) The bridge has not been repaired yet.
b) A detailed inspection was done in 29 July 2016 by consulting firm Arcus Gibb according to requirements of the Committee of Transport Officials (COTO) of South Africa.
c) The inspection report reported "minor" defects with minimum "relevancy". No repairs were necessary.
d) The 29 July 2016 inspection report was done by consulting firm Arcus Gibb.
e) (i) The report was completed on 31 August 2017.
(ii) The report reflected that an 18.1 ton coil of steel came off a truck and impacted the pier above the protective barrier. The pier complied with the then TPA impact requirements when the bridge was constructed in 1978. The report also highlighted that the large impact was considered an extremely rare occurrence. The report did not deal with why the steel coil came off the truck. The report concluded that the collapse of the bridge was as a result of this impact and not any maintenance issues. All reinforcing and pre-stressing steel was not corroded and lack of maintenance did not lead to the collapse.
(iii) The bridge collapse report was compiled by the consulting firm Superstructures Consulting Engineers.
f) Although the highway is monitored with 24-hour CCTV, these systems cannot detect and warn against a bridge collapse caused by vehicle accident as experienced with this incident.