Restoration of the rotting Woodbridge Island bridge could start in a month once the City has weighed up the tender bids. Brett Herron, Mayco member for transport and urban development, said the cost of the project would only be known once that had happened, but work could start by the end of March.
The tender was advertised on the South African Heritage Resources Agency website and closed in October.
Heritage Western Cape’s decision last year to approve the City’s plans to restore the historical bridge met with mixed reaction from residents (“Bridge divides community,” Tabletalk, March 29 2017).
Some feel the facelift will do the area good; others say the money could be better spent on more pressing needs, such as housing.
The City says the restoration will be funded by national government and will not eat into municipal budgets for other needs.
Mr Herron said the bridge, once restored, would create a link for pedestrians and cyclists between Woodbridge Island and the MyCiTi bus route along Marine Drive.
“There has been a positive response to this project in the community engagement meetings that have taken place to date,” said Mr Herron.
Milnerton resident Terry Crawford-Browne said it was squandering public money to rebuild a bridge that he he described as “derelict and unsightly”.
“What is the point of it when there is an existing bridge that is perfectly adequate? VAT has gone up, there is a water crises. What a waste of money,” he said.
