Explosion: Nearly R200million to repair Joburg’s Bree Street
City of Johannesburg has set aside R198million to restore Bree Street but hopes the National Distaster Management Centre can foot the bill.
Six months after a gas explosion ripped through Lillian Ngoyi Street (commonly known as Bree Street), the City of Johannesburg has announced that repairs to road will soon begin.
The blast which occurred in July last year, was caused by an explosion to underground pipes, damaging buildings and around 30 vehicles-and by luck no fatalities.
HEFTY PRICE TAG
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The repair work, which is expected to be completed this December, comes which a hefty R198 million price tag according to Joburg Mayor Kabelo Gwamanda.
Gwamanda is however hoping the explosion to be declared a disaster in order to access funds from the National Disaster Management Centre.
“Simultaneously, the City has submitted a disaster declaration application, seeking funding for the rehabilitation work. Despite the ongoing finalisation process with the province, recognising the urgency, the City has reallocated its budget to expedite rehabilitation efforts,” says the Mayor.
The bill expected to cover professional fees and construction costs, roadworks, stormwater and services infrastructure, electrical, mechanical, and structural works.
#JoburgUpdates
— City of Joburg (@CityofJoburgZA) January 11, 2024
Joburg initiates rehabilitation of Lillian Ngoyi Street #JoburgExplosion #LillianNgoyiStreetRehab ^GZ pic.twitter.com/OewKy6Sf6o
PREVENTING FUTURE EXPLOSIONS
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The City has hired Durapi Consulting, and the contractor is STEP UP Engineering.
In an effort to prevent future explosions, the City says it has plans to upgrade other service tunnels around the Metro.
“The City is actively assessing other service tunnels throughout the municipality to prevent future incidents. Designs for their upgrades are expected to be finalised in June 2024, with actual upgrades scheduled for the 2024–2025 financial year.”