The Johannesburg Development Agency (JDA) faces a stumbling block ahead of the completion of the Molapo Bridge, which is intended to reduce traffic by improving mobility and travel convenience between two suburbs, Jabulani and Molapo.

​​

The bridge links Jabulani to Molapo, South East of Jabulani Mall. Once completed, it will create easy access for residents travelling from Molapo to Jabulani through Molele Street over the railway line.

The bridge was meant to be finished within a year when the project started around 2019 but completion has been shifted to next year as the JDA awaits Eskom to remove its overhead power line poles.

​

The development, which has been stagnant for months, is nearly 80% complete. It has been hampered by loadshedding, and overhead power line poles situated in the middle of the bridge’s path, which has slowed the project’s progress.

Despite delays, the JDA says work is steaming ahead to complete construction.

“The introduction of the Molapo Bridge will see the Jabulani node become a more sustainable development in the area, allowing a socially and economically integrated environment between these two communities of Molapo and Jabulani,” says Belinda Echeozonjoku, the Member of the Mayoral Committee (MMC) for Development Planning in the City of Johannesburg.

The bridge is about 11m wide, with the length of the deck over the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa rail being 15.6m long. The substructure of the bridge will be constructed using reinforced concrete and the final foundation type will be refined once the geotechnical investigation is finalised.

The superstructure will be constructed using precast beams with top in-situ reinforced concrete slabs. The parapet will mainly be precast post and rail parapet except over the railway line where solid wall parapet will be used to meet municipal requirements. The bridge width will require two minimum walkways of 1.5m plus two traffic lanes of 3.7m wide each. It will approximately consist of 131 parapets and 12 storm water drains for easy flow of water.

The JDA has created a number of jobs for both communities in a 40-60% split, with the Molapo community walking away with a bigger proportion of employment due to where the work takes place.

Construction site Foreman Tshidiso Moketa stands up from a black plastic chair in his protective gears, highlighted vest, black jeans and black boots to exchange greetings.

“The project is designed for the community of Soweto, more especially the ones near Molapo and Jabulani to have easy access to travelling but the reception from other community members is not welcoming at all.

“During social unrests, they destroy the infrastructure that we built for them all in the name of seeking employment which is something we have been working with from day one.

“Truth of the matter is that we can’t employ all Molapo or Jabulani residents more especially now that the work is not much compared to when we started so we had to cut some employees until Eskom can resolve the overhead power line poles,” says Moketa.

The JDA says that once completed, the bridge is expected to reduce crime in the area and curb the high rate of deaths and accidents around the railway line.

“We are incredibly happy to be part of this project. It’s good to see young people getting employment because unemployment in Molapo is very rife. This tender provided my son with a job, and it has made an enormous difference because I was the only one working at home,” says Buhle Tshabalala, a resident of Molapo, expressing her joy and excitement for the project.

Jabulani boasts a shopping mall, regional municipal offices, social housing, a theatre, a hospital, a cultural precinct, and a police station. It has been identified as one of the City’s signature projects for using transit-oriented development (TOD) as a catalyst to accelerate socio-economic growth, by revitalising a neighbourhood for residents, commuters, businesses, and visitors.

“The completion of the bridge is mainly reliant on Eskom removing the poles, if they don’t come through to remove the overhead power line poles, unfortunately, the project is going to be compromised and take longer than expected as it has now,” concludes Moketa.