Is the “End” in Sight for Cape Town’s Infamous Unfinished Bridge?

After almost 40 years, the days may be numbered for Cape Town’s highway to nowhere. Mayor Patricia de Lille reportedly told a press conference last week that plans are in motion to join the so-called Unfinished Bridge near the V&A Waterfront to the N1.

De Lille said plans would be announced later in June. In the meantime, we look back at some interesting facts about the architectural anomaly.

• The bridge is called the Foreshore Bridge Highway.
• It was built in the 1970s and construction halted in 1977, apparently with no clear explanation.
• It has become an unofficial monument to mismanagement.
• One story has it that the city at the time had failed to get permission from the owner of a coffee shop that stood in the way of its completion. Once the shop and the owner were gone, there was no money to finish the project.
• Movie scenes (car chases and explosions) as well as commercials have been shot there.
• During the 2010 World Cup Soccer tournament hosted by South Africa, the world’s largest (35 meter) operational vuvuzela sponsored by Hyundai was mounted on the western side and meant to sound at the start of each game. The city council decided not to use it because the volume was a concern.
• In 2012 the Transport for Cape Town initiative sought the input of design students at the University of Cape Town for a solution. In 2014 some 600 students exhibited their ideas, including planting trees on it, turning it into a rollercoaster or skate park, and making some sort of waterway.