Vredendal totally cut off

2008-07-08 18:08

Verashni Pillay

Cape Town - The last accessible road running out of Vredendal on the West Coast has been closed off after cracks in the road were found, officials said on Tuesday.

Cracks were first thought to have been discovered on the major bridge over the swollen Olifants River at Vredendal on Tuesday morning.

Provincial engineers assessed the situation and found the bridge was undamaged, but that there were cracks in the road leading up to the bridge.

By 16:30 on Tuesday, Western Cape disaster risk management officials told News24 the road would be closed with immediate effect until further notice.

It was the last accessible route for vehicles after the flooded river cut off the road from Vredendal to Klawer on the N7.

"You've got Vredendal proper and then an area called Vredendal North," explained Rhowheln Rhoode, regional manager for the department of transport and public works.

"Those two areas are linked by the bridge and it is the road on the Vredendal North side that has got the cracks in it."

Vredendal had no access except for emergency vehicles and pedestrians.

"We have closed it to vehicles because the cracks in the road can be made worse by vehicle tyres," said Rhoode.

Huguenot Tunnel re-opened

Earlier, Sapa had reported that boats had been used to rescue a number of people on farms in the area who were trapped when the rising river flooded their homes.

The Weather Service on Tuesday predicted continuing heavy rain that could lead to localised flooding in West Coast districts, which include Vredendal, the Cape metropole, and the western parts of the Overberg.

Meanwhile, the Huguenot Tunnel on the N1 that connects Paarl to Worcester was re-opened on Monday night after mudslides near the Worcester entrance.

The tunnel was closed from 16:40 until 20:45 on Monday for clean-up operations, and traffic was diverted through Du Toit's Kloof pass.

Tunnel general manager Eric Eksteen said the tunnel was "absolutely stable" and unaffected.

- News24