City of Johannesburg

Johannesburg Development Agency

No 3 Helen Joseph Street PO Box 61877 Tel +27(0) 11 688 7851 (O)
The Bus Factory Marshalltown Fax +27(0) 11 688 7899/63
Newtown 2107 E-mail: info@jda.org.za
Johannesburg, 2000

www.jda.org.za
www.joburg.org.za
To: All news editors
For immediate release
20 December 2022

TWO YEARS ON: REHABILITATION OF 5TH ROAD BRIDGE

Two years since the collapse of the 5th Road Bridge we highlight how the crisis
showcased the importance of cooperative governance within the city in order respond
to complex and unexpected challenges by adapting and redirecting development
efforts to address critical needs.

Roads and bridges form a critical part of the transport infrastructure of a growing city.
The completion of the 5th Road Bridge in Northwold demonstrates the City of
Johannesburg’s commitment to providing new transport infrastructure.

Directors
L Brenner (Chairperson) S Moonsamy Acting (CEO) S Moonsamy (CFO) LB Matshidze N Ntingane S Marota A Dreyer M Malinga W Thwala M PHathutshedzo C Whittle
R Shirinda (Company Secretary)
Registration Number: 2001/005101/07
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. The bridge was damaged and
washed away because of the heavy flooding in December 2020.

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,” JDA CEO Mokgema Mongane.

In terms of small, medium, and micro-enterprise (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.

ENDS

Issued by:
Kenneth Nxumalo
Johannesburg Development Agency
For more information:
Elias Nkabinde

Email: enkabinde@jda.org.za
076 961 8022
www.jda.org.za