Two years down the lane and the road and bridge in the south of the city still pose the question: are they open or not?
Bloemfontein Courant goes back in time, from the inception of the project until today. We look at both the progress and regress of the project as the completion dates were rescheduled multiple times since 2021.
3 June 2021: Bloemfontein Courant reported that the project to extend Vereeniging Drive officially kicked off on 1 June 2021 and is set to be completed at the end of May 2022.
7 April 2022: Bloemfontein Courant visited the construction site this week and found that the road leading up to and going over the bridge in Vereeniging Drive already had lines painted on it and that the road that runs underneath the bridge in Monument Road has been functional for a while.
9 June 2022: The road and bridge project would have been completed by the end of May. The date was, however, moved to the end of June.
23 June 2022: A date for the opening of the bridge and road was announced by the Mangaung Metro Municipality (MMM). According to the spokesperson, Qondile Khedama, the road was envisioned to be opened on 5 August. 11 August 2022: The deadline came and went, yet the road and bridge remained closed.
3 November 2022: Both entrances were still marked with ‘road closed’ signs. According to the MMM’s acting City Manager at the time, Tebogo Motlashuping, the road and bridge were set to be opened by the end of November.
16 January 2023: The New Year was reigned in, but the road remained closed despite the promises of it opening “soon”. Councillor David McKay called on the community to sign a petition to force the MMM to open the road by 15 February 2023.
11 May 2023: This month marks the second year of this project and the first time since December 2022 that the MMM announced a new official opening date for the road. The date was set for 12 May.
12 May 2023: Yet another date came and went, but the road remains closed. A new date was, however, set for the next day (13 May) when the Acting Executive Mayor of MMM, Gregory Nthatisi, was set to open the road, but he did not. No new date was given this time.
17 May 2023: To answer the question: Yes, the road is now open for public use. According to Nthatisi, the road has reached a practical completion stage and therefore they are able to open the road to the public. “There are no dangers hindering motorists from using the road,” said Nthatisi. He did, however, say that this is not the official opening as there are a few issues that still need attendance. He further stated that the remaining 3% of the road will be completed while the road is in use as they are considered “off-road issues”.
Justine Fortuin
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