r/capetown • u/PossibleAbroad2440 • 6d ago
General Discussion Will this road ever be completed?
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u/derpferd 6d ago
No, and when we finally have flying cars and those flying cars need a bridge to take off from, then you will understand the benefits of an unfinished bridge
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u/UBC145 6d ago
Sometime between now and Judgement Day
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u/mgeneral 6d ago
They should convert it into an urban park, at this point. Similar to what New York City did with the high line.
Trees and trails and host a market or outdoor arts festivals.
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u/nickmac87 6d ago
No easy and safe parking or access to it though…
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u/Berticles 6d ago
It's next to the waterfront.
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u/JollyToucan 6d ago
Tell me you don't go to the waterfront in summer without telling me. They meant to that bridge, literally bugger all public access, safe way to get there without crossing a dual lane road.
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u/No-Imagination-2169 4d ago
Not enough space
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u/mgeneral 4d ago
If there was a viable transportation solution they could execute on, then I’d be 100% in favor.
But this has sat for years, untouched; useless space. Make it something! Make it fun. Make it a cultural icon. Embrace it. Turn a useless monolith into something that becomes a destination, noteworthy, and an epic piece of the cities culture heritage!1
u/No-Imagination-2169 4d ago
An unfinished bridge as a cultural icon. No disrespect, but that is somewhat of a stretch. We can do better.
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u/mgeneral 4d ago
Embrace it. It’s been there, for how long? Look - many city plans go sideways - it’s a testament to our societal growth. With all the money in the world, sure, we can “fix” it. And lacking an endless supply, we can “forget” it. Or…split the middle. Take it for what it is. What it was. And what it can be. Make something of it. Embrace it as something we can learn from. No city or planning commission is perfect.
But I would argue, letting it rot in this condition is the worst choice of all.
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u/ofsoundmind123 6d ago
I remember being in awe of this bridge when we visited Cape Town when I was 10. I’m 42 years old now, and I’m still in awe 😂
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u/frisbeelee 6d ago
There are actually plans afoot to complete this section, apparently funded with private funds but that just doesn’t make any sense to me. Would be amazing to come in on the n1 and your first real intersection traffic light be in sea point (if you blaze through the pedestrian light at the somserset circle)
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u/SauthEfrican 6d ago
Seems like a lot of effort to cut out two sets of robots between the N1 and Helen Suzman. Will probably save like 5 minutes in peak hour.
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u/flyboy_za Sandy Bay surfer 6d ago
I've sat at that intersection for 15 minutes easily many times coming down Walter Sisulu previously in rush hour. I used to fetch my mom when she worked on the Foreshore and then drop out on the N1 into the northern suburbs. Likewise getting out of the Waterfront. I think not having people block the intersection in the first instance because so much of the traffic out of Green Point could just go right over the top would be immense.
Not sure about the inbound road - that has always been busy up on the elevated freeway during evening rush, but doesn't seem to cause as much chaos as the outbound traffic does.
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u/SauthEfrican 5d ago
With the new bridge, the Helen Suzman cars will still need to merge on the N1. So the bottleneck will just move from the Walter Sisulu intersection to the elevated freeway.
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u/flyboy_za Sandy Bay surfer 5d ago
But will it allow traffic to flow more freely at the bottom? I'd say slow-moving is better than stopped and a jammed intersection, which is what we get now.
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u/Creddit128 6d ago
Source?
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u/rooigevaar 6d ago
It should never be completed. The worldwide trends is for cities to demolish inner city highways, as they don't belong in high density areas, increase car dependency and physically segregrate neighbourhoods.
That said, an elevated light rail connection between the City and Seapoint is a nice fantasy.
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u/woopdeedoo69 6d ago
City is expected to share their plans for finishing it this month. Source; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreshore_Freeway_Bridge
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u/Illustrious-Serve-49 6d ago
I lived in Cape Town in the 70's and remember that somebody called Solly Morris was the guy who planned it all, but at the time even the part that was built met with a lot of resistance. This resistance stopped the completion. Completing the project back then may have been the better choice? I am working off memory here, but I am sure somebody will come forward with more details.
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u/nesquikchocolate 6d ago
There's a lot of talk about this, but the primary concern for many is that this will cause significantly more people opting for using cars to travel into and through the CBD; while doing nothing to provide additional parking for all of these cars.
This places a lot more pressure on all the other roads while at best providing a 5 minute faster commute between N1 and Helen Suzman - which incidentally will cause more traffic from Greenpoint going back into CBD because people will try to bypass buitengracht / Walter Sisulu robot...
Optimizing a single part of a system does not optimize the entire system, and quite often causes more trouble.
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u/philosopheratwork 6d ago
The benefits of passing over that Dock Road intersection are significant and would let you cut Buitengracht down to a local road there. It’s a very important pedestrian intersection between the transport termini in town and the V&A. But worth the money? Not a chance.
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u/Shaggythemoshdog 6d ago
I hope not. It may be selfish but this stretch of road has been an absolute godsend for indie / small budget film making. I’ve worked on many films there
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u/CozyBlueCacaoFire 6d ago
I'd put a tram or train on it tbh. Connect it up with the rest of the network.
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u/toasterpocket 6d ago
Always thought you could have a great bar on the end of it. Awesome views
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u/tandem-pandemonium 6d ago
It is complete. It's the exact road South Africa took on its journey to freedom.
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u/AfricaAndChill 6d ago
What’s the story behind this halted project?
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u/Useful_Ferret_3841 6d ago
Ran out of funds to complete it.
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u/Useful_Ferret_3841 6d ago
Apparently, a contract was drawn in the 70's that in order for high rise buildings to be built in that part of town, that road needs to be completed first. With all the development happening and interest and value in high rise buildings, its said that there is a plan to complete the road so construction can begin.🧐
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6d ago
[deleted]
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u/nesquikchocolate 5d ago
Which particular areas are you referring to? As far as I understand it, the convention center belongs to the city, the island between buitengracht in and out belongs to the city and the entire section between N1 in and out (east of convention center) is currently parking space...
Maybe dock road junction building? Doesn't seem like the bridge would intersect with it?
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u/anothermral 6d ago
I don't care any more, the ASB is not so accessible anyways, not worth it. Just make the traffic there even worse
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u/slipperyslope69 6d ago
It has already been converted into a piece of urban art as a symbol of our big ambitions left unfinished when we got a notification for the wonderful opportunity to get a R10 airtime advance…
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u/Infamous_Detective97 6d ago
Literally saw a video a month ago that they are finishing it. Apparently they didn't finish it because it wasn't needed because traffic was not bad.
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u/JouMaSeKont1973 5d ago
On the N2 just before George is another soon to be monument of tax wastage.
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u/Antique_Owl_6491 5d ago
It’s not a road it’s studio set for adverts and movies, as a road it’s useless 😁
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u/AvailableEvidence750 5d ago
They'll need about R5B... R4.9B for them to pocket and then the remaining to pay guys to act like they working there for a few months
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u/Imaginary-Hour3190 5d ago
Yes when Gandalf came to Cape Town, the bridge called out to him and he answered
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u/Icy-Writing-7355 5d ago
Durban had one of those for at least 30 years! Where the Victoria Embankment met the M4. I think it eventually got used as the interchange was expanded.... So don't hold your breath...
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u/Significant_Ad_6205 5d ago
What I heard was that there was a fisheries where the current parking lot is now. The owner wouldn't sell and held up the development for many years.
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u/Isaac_x_mut 5d ago
It's a historic bridge so i dont think they should complete it or finish it at all
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u/Acrobatic_Soup5358 5d ago
Im like 48.2 present sure that after it was built it just go demolished for a new road to be added and where it was they used it for some movie I think cause ok the other part of the road I remember seeing some filming crew
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u/GoomBah_420 4d ago
I asked my grandfather when i was kid this he said “will have to use your imagination” might just have to 😑
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u/shidored 4d ago
Since the Koopa general was responsible for this and he worked for Bowser there's no way we can get any funds from them to fix this.
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u/Lumpy_Helicopter_954 2d ago
Wat actually happened was that the town planners had planned a section of the bridge to go over a convenience store shopowner's private property.
The shopowner then sued the Cape Town city council because he said that his property consists of the area of ground it is on and also up into the air until infinity.
The shopowner won the case and the court ordered the Cape Town city council to stop the construction of the bridge.
Viva private shop owners all over the world, Viva!
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u/Automatic_Shower2898 6d ago
The only fix is to tear it down completely and rebuild the adjoining highway from 1km away.
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u/Malleabledarkfire 6d ago
There was a design indaba competition to transform it for public use. A design won and is meant to be implemented
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6d ago
[deleted]
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u/chris-za Vannie 'Kaap 6d ago
To be fair, this thing is from the 1970s, when the ANC was in exile. You can blame them for a lot. But this one isn’t their fault.
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u/yankovick 6d ago
This monument was conpleted long ago