Montagu and Seven Passes Road closed till further notice
The stunning Montagu and Seven Passes Road in the Western Cape remain closed to ALL road users in the face of lengthy maintenance delays.
Any true adventurer needs no introduction to the Montagu and Seven Passes Road between George, Oudsthoorn, Wilderness and Knysna. However, following record levels of rain over the last year, the roads sustained severe flood damage. And, sadly, they will remain closed for the foreseeable future, reports IOL.
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This is the call of Western Cape Department of Infrastructure (DOI) when pressed for an update on the maintenance of the iconic roads. The department says its first priority is to re-establish access to local communities that rely on the roads.
MONTAGU AND SEVEN PASSES ROAD
It says an order of repairs is prioritised based on the amount of traffic a particular road carries and its economic importance. “Given the current resource constraints, the DOI has had to prioritise routes that carry higher traffic volumes than the Montagu and Seven Passes Road,” said the department.
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Work done to repair Montagu Pass had to be stopped, too, following intervention by members of Heritage Western Cape (HWC). Because the pass is a provincial heritage site, the DOI first had to receive the necessary HWC permit before work could restart. Further adverse weather also caused the road to deteriorate to a point where it was considered too dangerous for the public.
LACK OF FUNDING
The department also says that due to a lack of funding and resource availability, repairs are likely to be delayed further. However, a permit from HWC for the maintenance and repair of the Montagu Pass has at least been issued.
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The department says rumours that it had problems with contractors are baseless. And no contractor has done any work on the passes. It further stated that work on the Montagu and Seven Passes Road was likely to be done in a phased approach, based on budget and resource availability.
CLOSED TO ALL ROAD USERS
There is currently no prospective date of when either road will reopen. The passes will only be reopened when the necessary maintenance has been completed. The department appealed to residents to be patient. Both passes remain closed to all road users, including pedestrians, cyclists and all forms of motorists.
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