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THE much publicised Main Road upgrade, which was originally scheduled to start yesterday, has been delayed following an acute shortage of quality bitumen, a key component of asphalt.

A source close to the project says the intended renovations, which will stretch from Muizenberg to Clovelly, were also delayed as not all the sewers had been cleaned.

Stakeholders are meeting today (Tuesday) to discuss what mea?sures can be taken to get the project back on schedule.

Councillor Demetri Qually, chairperson of the South Peninsula Subcouncil, explains the impact of the bitumen shortage.

He says Westlake Avenue, which links Boyes Drive with Steenberg Road via the Westlake Golf Course and the Stonehurst housing estate, was originally scheduled to be reopened at the end of February.

He says this would have been done with the intention of easing the projected congestion at the Boyes Drive/Main Road junction in Westlake.

But due to the lack of bitumen, this was not possible and so it was decided to rather delay the commencement of the Main Road works until this could be done.

Metrorail have said they would be unable to provide extra trains to help alleviate the expected increase in traffic on the road due to the fact that there are no additional trains to put into service, as well as there being a shortage of train drivers and other technical skills in crucial areas.

"We have just completed a concerted drive to recruit these skills, but it will take time before they will be ready for service," says Riana Scott, spokesperson for Metrorail.

The Main Road upgrade is sche?duled to be completed over a period of three years and will include a full retarring of the road and a revamp of the underlying infrastructure, including water mains, sewer lines and stormwater drains.

The project is divided into three phases, the first one covering a distance of 1,6 km from De Post Huys in Muizenberg to Dale Brook Road in St James. This section is expec?ted to take between 15 and 18 months to complete.

During the upgrade the city and the contractor have promised the road will never be entirely closed and work will only take place on weekdays from 07:00 to 17:00.

The contractors are hopeful the stop-go traffic blocks will not result in motorists waiting longer than 15 minutes.

Stephen.Kihn@peoplespost.co.za

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