Marking another milestone in the City of Joburg’s efforts to dismantle Apartheid spatial planning and develop transport corridors linking key economic and settlement hubs, the Johannesburg Development Agency (JDA) has broken ground on a R130-million pedestrian and cycling bridge linking the primarily low-income Alexandra township with nearby Sandton – the country’s key economic and financial node.

The commuter bridge, which would traverse the M1 highway and run alongside the existing Grayston interchange, formed part of a planned 5-km-long cycling and walking corridor from the heart of Alexandra to the Sandton central business district (CBD) and would accommodate the 10 000 daily commuters that currently travelled between the two centres.

“The bridge will provide safe and convenient pedestrian and cyclist access between Sandton and Alexandra. It literally bridges the gap between two communities with opposite economic backgrounds, while creating a visual gateway into the economic hub of our country,” Transport MMC Christine Walters said at the sod-turning ceremony on Wednesday.

The corridor, which formed part of Phase 1C of the city’s overarching Rea Vaya bus rapid transit (BRT) infrastructure project and Corridors of Freedom initiative, would see investment of some R171-million.

Construction of the bridge, which started this month, would be completed by October next year, while work on the sidewalks and cycle lanes linking the bridge to Alexandra and Sandton was due for completion by the end of next year.

Around 40 jobs would be created during the construction phase, while a further ten people would be employed to maintain the structure on a permanent basis.

Walters believed the benefits of the project would “far outweigh” the inconvenience to commuters during the 18-month construction phase.

Noting that safety considerations had been a priority during the design of the bridge, JDA senior development manager Siyabonga Genu added on Wednesday that the structure would have separate 3-m-wide cycle and pedestrians walkways, with solar-powered light-emitting diode lighting, hawker stalls, benches, shrubbery and closed-circuit television cameras installed along the route.

“The city is in the process of investigating various initiatives to formalise the management of the overall safety of this important project,” noted Public Safety MMC Sello Lemao.

To ensure universal access, the pedestrian walkway would not have steps or similar barriers, making it wheelchair-friendly, while local artists would be selected to render artworks along the length of the bridge.

The dedicated walking and cycling path would start at Number 3 Square in Alexandra, and would follow Roosevelt street, Watt street over Louis Botha avenue, and Rautenbach street, before meeting the new bridge across the highway and continuing along Grayston drive onto Katherine street and Linden street before terminating at the corner of Maude and 5th street.

The bridge was designed by engineering group Royal HaskoningDHV and would be built by construction contractor Murray & Roberts. 

PHASE 1C BRT
Phase 1C of the Rea Vaya infrastructure roll-out initiative – of which this project formed part – would see the development of dedicated BRT lanes, the widening of the sidewalks and the construction of cycle lanes between Houghton and Sandton.

The lanes would be built along the Louis Botha avenue to Alexandra before traversing the M1 via a planned dedicated BRT bridge and running along Katherine street to the Sandton CBD.

Seven BRT stations would be built along Louis Botha Avenue by October next year.

“A big component of this is walkability and cycleability. The sidewalks along Louis Botha avenue will be widened from their current 1 m to 3 m, and we’ll negotiate to buy portions of private land to allow this,” Genu explained.

While there would not be a dedicated BRT lane running into Alexandra itself, as there was little room for further expansion in the thronged township, the JDA would promote walking and cycling in the area, upgrading sidewalks, establishing dedicated cycling lanes and constructing bicycle storage facilities at stations.

“We will also establish bike-sharing schemes to encourage the use of nonmotorised transport,” he remarked.