The completion of the 5th Road Bridge in Northwold demonstrates the City of Johannesburg’s commitment to providing new transport infrastructure. The construction and rehabilitation of the 5th Road Bridge was in line with the JDA objectives of developing resilient, sustainable, and liveable urban areas in identified transit nodes and corridors. The Johannesburg Road Agency (JRA) appointed the JDA to implement the long-term rehabilitation construction of the 5th Road Bridge. It was damaged and washed away because of the heavy flooding in December 2020.

Roads and bridges form a critical part of the transport infrastructure of a growing city

Following the disaster, as an interim measure, the JRA appointed an engineer and a contractor to design and construct a temporary access road off Malibongwe Drive, north of the N1.

As part of the long-term solution to the maintenance of the 5th Road Bridge, JDA began building the structure and the following works:

• The demolition and removal of the bridge
• A new multicellular precast portal culvert with concrete infill on a cast-in-situ concrete base slab.

The safety of the public and all affected parties was of the utmost importance in the project. A detailed traffic management plan (TMP) was part of this project to:

• Accommodate traffic and barricade the construction work area/site.
• Allow the construction of the earthworks along the road approaching the bridge.

“We hope the rehabilitated 5th Road Bridge will be of great benefit to residents of Northwold, including the Sunrise Estate Retirement Village community for whom the bridge provides the only access to the estate,” said JDA CEO Mokgema Mongane.

In terms of small, medium, and micro-enterprises (SMMEs) and entrepreneurial support, the JDA aims to increase the number of local and emerging contractors from previously disadvantaged communities.

​To create more local jobs for communities where capital projects in regions around the City of Johannesburg.

The rehabilitation of the bridge provided opportunities for SMMEs and local labour, with 30% of the local spending required by the City of Johannesburg to provide access to employment opportunities for local contractors.

This rehabilitation project formed part of the JRA Bridges Management Programme to reach the target of 50 bridges across the city.

21/12/2022