Two injured after pedestrian bridge collapses in Jeppestown, train services suspended. [Picture: Pretoria News]
The state of infrastructure in much of South Africa’s towns and cities does not need to be spelt out. But troubling signs of deterioration are becoming more common – the collapse of a pedestrian bridge in Jeppestown, Johannesburg, being the latest.
On Wednesday afternoon, two people were crossing a bridge over the railway line in Jeppestown when it collapsed. Both had to be rushed to hospital. They are being treated for serious to moderate injuries.
“The worrying sign is overall we are not doing that good. Of course, what happened in Jeppestown is an example of the status of our infrastructure,” said Professor Mohamed Mostafa, head of Civil Engineering at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN).
Reasons
The hens are coming to roost. Peak hour traffic in any of the major cities are nightmarish as motorists have to navigate already-congested roads without robots. The supply of water and electricity are anything but reliable, and public transport, education and healthcare systems are in shambles. The disaster was a long time in the making.
“We know why this has happened. The reasons can be summarised [as] underfunding of maintenance, lack of competency, lack of skills, climate change has some effect in accelerating the damage of some infrastructure and heavy traffic …” said Mostafa.
A number of troubling reports have tracked the atrophy of infrastructure in South Africa. They have also outlined the reasons and put out recommendations for the country’s government to implement. Except, this has gone mostly unheeded.
SMread: ‘All hands on deck’ – Gwamanda on fixing Johannesburg
Maintenance
Mostafa said while there were a number of reports sounding the alarm on South Africa’s collapsing infrastructure, professionals could only do so much. “Only the government can deal with infrastructure. It’s their responsibility to take action and to look into their priorities,” he said.
If the cause of deterioration was a lack of maintenance, the solution would be to ensure maintenance was ongoing. Yet the prevailing culture is contrary to what is sorely needed.
“There is a need in the country to have a widespread culture in the government of maintenance. There are exceptions like SANRAL, for example, but the exceptions should be the norm.”
“Maintenance is the key to prevent incidents like the sad incident that happened in Jeppestown,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) said they were investigating the cause of the collapse. The agency will reveal more information once the investigation is complete.
