Heritage Cases

The aim of the proposed construction of the new river bridge is to eradicate the existing unsafe gravel road crossing through the riverbed. The new bridge will provide uninterrupted and safe access to school children and the community in general, over the river. Currently there is no existing drainage structure. Vehicles and pedestrians must cross the river at riverbed level. The riverbed is ± 5m deep at the crossing and has steep banks. The eroded banks and riverbed are most possibly symptoms of some high flood velocities. There is no exposed bedrock visible at the existing crossing position. The bridge site has always been crossing point between the Goo-Nonyane section, which hosts the churches, schools, clinic; and the Ledubana section which hosts the village cemetery and sports ground. There is therefore a need for proper access and crossing between these two sections of one village. Evidence on the ground show that people still walk across and have been doing makeshift plan like packing stones and rubble to assist crossing, but rain always washes these away while erosion makes the crossing deeper and steeper. From an overall sensitivity and planning perspective, the proposed construction supports the broader strategic context of the municipality and is in line with broader societal needs and the public interest. No exceedance of social, ecological or heritage limits will result from the construction of the proposed bridge and it associated infrastructures, and no significant disturbance of biological diversity is anticipated, as detailed in this Basic Assessment Report. For the two years prior the municipality failed to implemented MIG allocations as awarded to the municipality for upgrading of streets from gravel to tar or paving. Delay in procurement process impacted negatively for implementation of the MIG Projects. The implementation of storm water projects is not possible due to the costs as per MIG standards, thus the roads also serves as the storm water channels.