To date, the City of Cape Town has spent approximately R157 million on the rehabilitation of Main Road, one of the South Peninsula’s most scenic access roads with a history dating back to 1882 when the rail line from Cape Town was extended to Muizenberg. Read more below:
Once the third and last phase of the rehabilitation project is concluded in January 2017, the new road surface stretching over a distance of approximately 4,5 km – from the crossing with Atlantic Road to the crossing with Clovelly Road – will significantly improve the safety of all road users along Main Road.
‘As a key tourist route for the City of Cape Town, we recognise the importance of this project. Attracting more tourists means more jobs created for the residents of our city,’ said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member: Transport for Cape Town, Councillor Brett Herron.
Muizenberg, with its warmer waters and vibrant atmosphere attracts residents from all areas of our city, realising this administration’s efforts to build an inclusive city in which our public amenities are shared spaces, enjoyed by all our diverse residents.
All old underground services such as water mains, sewer pipes and the like will have been replaced as well; both lanes of the road fully reconstructed; additional parallel parking will have been provided where possible; and pedestrian footways will be fully refurbished and improved.
‘All in all, approximately R304 million will have been spent on all three phases of this project. The replacement of underground services will cater for the foreseeable development in the southern peninsula for at least the next 40 years and it is estimated that the rehabilitated road will last another 30 years, which includes allowances for the increase in traffic along Main Road. The significance of this project is obvious when one bears in mind that Main Road is one of only three access routes to the far south and that it currently carries about 20 000 vehicles per day,’ said Councillor Herron.
A major portion of the current third phase project comprises the demolition of the existing concrete viaduct above the old Clovelly station which will be replaced with a retaining wall to support the footway above.
Besides the installation of services infrastructure in the Main Road reserve such as new stormwater lines and sewer pipes, the security of water supply to the residents of Muizenberg and the surrounding areas forms an important part of this project. As such, the 50-year-old existing water main running under Main Road will be replaced with a 700 mm ductile iron pipe.
This main will be connected to the new pump station at Clovelly, securing the water supply to residents in the far south for the next 30 to 40 years, thereby enabling further economic development in the area. ‘This is also a very unique project, given the existing roadway’s long history dating back to the 19th Century when the alignment of the road was first formalised and road drainage was installed after the rail line was constructed to Kalk Bay in 1883,’ said Councillor Herron.
The kerbs and channels, for example, are constructed from hand-hewn local sandstone. During the
rehabilitation of this section of road, these stones were lifted, stored and re-used in the vicinity where they were originally placed.
‘In fact, in the vicinity of the St James and Kalk Bay railway stations, some of these stone kerbs and channels had not been touched for nearly 140 years. We therefore took careful consideration of the history and heritage of this area during the design and subsequent rehabilitation work,’ said Councillor Herron.
Coinciding with this project is the upgrading of the southern railway line between Muizenberg and Fish Hoek, whereby some 2 000 wooden sleepers will be replaced with concrete railway sleepers over a period of six to eight weeks.
‘The maintenance of the railway line is crucial as its historical and tourism significance cannot be under-estimated. Few places in the world can boast a railway line along such a beautiful stretch of coast as our extremely popular weekend leisure trips prove,’ said Metrorail’s Regional Manager, Richard Walker.
The City welcomes the replacement project which is to commence shortly.
‘This will improve performance, reliability and safety for commuters and tourists who travel on the southern railway line,’ said Councillor Herron.
City of Cape Town Media Release – 3 October 2014 Issued by: Integrated Strategic Communication and Branding Department, City of Cape Town Media enquiries: Councillor Brett Herron, Mayoral Committee Member: Transport for Cape Town, City of Cape Town, Tel: 021 400 1298 or Cell: 082 518 3264, E-mail: brett.herron@capetown.gov.za (please always copy media.account@capetown.gov.za)