Secondly, Should the Flooding Be So Severe As to Cause the Failure of the Kenton Bridge, Then Without Doubt the Damage Further U

Secondly, should the flooding be so severe as to cause the failure of the Kenton bridge, then without doubt the damage further upstream where the valley is narrower would be catastrophic, probably removing the causeway altogether. And even should the structure survive, the damage to the gravel approaches and indeed the entire gravel road would be so severe (as occurred in 2012) as to make the road completely impassable. This road has not been resurfaced or maintained for years. It is not used by the local residents except those immediately adjacent, being Sibuya Game Reserve and Kariega Park. It is only used by the general public, primarily in December, for game viewing purposes and not for access or as a through road. It is for this reason, plus the extreme shortage of available funds for road maintenance that the DR 1950 has remained completely unmaintained for most of the last decade. For this road to serve as an alternate route to the R72, it would need to be completely rebuilt and unless tarred would still not be suitable for such a purpose. The thought might be that repairs to the causeway and the entire DR 1950 might be able to be effected quicker than the rebuilding of the Kenton bridge and this may be true. However even once repaired, unless tarred, this road would have to be closed every time it rained as one or two vehicles getting stuck (as would undoubtedly happen) would block the entire route. The presence of big 5 animals in the vicinity and the lack of cell phone coverage in the valley would make it particularly unpleasant and unsafe for anyone stuck as walking out of the valley to call for help would be extremely dangerous. Floods of 2006 – compare water level over Causeway with 50 -100 year flood of 2012 (below) Floods of 2012 – compare water level over Causeway with 10-25 year flood of 2006 (above) Hence my assertion that as far as the residents of Southwell are concerned; the hundreds of thousands of Rand proposed to be spent on this project, should rather be used to repair and properly maintain (on a consistent basis) the main access road, being the DR 1949, which is used by the local farmers to supply goods and services and deliver products to the various markets. The shocking state of disrepair of this road is clearly evident in the series of photographs below that chronicle the various faults that have remained unrepaired since the floods of 2013. The work on this road is inconsistent at best and poorly considered and implemented at worst. A great deal of money was spent on completely resurfacing it about three years ago and because of shoddy and unprofessional maintenance, a road that should last 15- 20 years will need complete resurfacing in less than half that time. Although I have not marked the positions of each photograph on a map this can easily be done should it be required. The start of the DR1949 – the Southwell Road and access for the Southwell farming community Inadequate maintenance of the storm water drainage causing flooding and damage Repair work (filling of pot holes) carried out by the local farmers as this is never done by the Municipality Completely blocked storm water drains causing water to flood over and damage the road surface Completely blocked storm water gullies forcing water to run down the middle and next to the road, causing massive damage and erosion Incorrect grading resulting in incorrect camber on the road – result storm water flowing down the middle of the road and scouring the gravel surface Further evidence of scouring and rivers next to the road damaging the road edges Condition of the DR 1949 at the Southwell road and DR 1950 intersection The intersection of DR 1949 and DR 1950 DR 1950 This road has not been maintained for years mostly at the insistence of the local residents. With the current prevailing constraint of funds, that has apparently been the case for most of the last decade, we have consistently requested that all funds available be utilised on the DR 1949 and not the DR 1950. Letters in this regard have been addressed to the various authorities on behalf of the farmers (I refer to submissions by Justin Stirk in particular). Accordingly this road has deteriorated to such an extent that any thought that it may be used as an alternative to the R72 is misguided and irrational. I repeat, for this to be a viable option, it would require tarring from the Ghio turn off on the R72 right through to the end of the Southwell to Grahamstown road at Port Alfred - a distance of, I would guess, about 35kms. Anything less would be pointless, as were the Kenton bridge to be destroyed, the likelihood of the Kasouga and the Bushmans River bridges being destroyed at the same time, is almost a certainty. In fact, after the floods of 2012 the Kasouga bridge, on the R72 had to be closed for a period to undergo repairs, whilst the Kenton bridge remained open. The below series of photographs depict the state of the DR 1950 from the intersection to the Causeway bridge, which we have repaired to make it passable. It is possible to see that this road largely has no gravel surfacing left at all. I have also added a picture to depict the steepness (with a vehicle in it) although the 2D effect does not show this too well Blocked or lack of storm water drains Severe gouging to the side of the road Severe damage to the road by water on the surface due to blocked drains Blocked and broken drainage pipes Road completely devoid of gravel surface Steep inclines completely impassable to trucks and low profile cars especially in the wet Causeway: We have previously (2005) applied to privatise the DR 1950 and therefore to maintain it ourselves. This was refused on the basis that it is an alternate route to the R72. However as described above this is not a workable option. Even were the roads Department to insist on this option, such a massive repair job is completely out of proportion to the usage of this road and would be done in a void without at least the same work being done to the Kasouga bridge further down the DR 1950 and an entire upgrade of the entire road as a whole. I reiterate; as a community asset the local community would far prefer the funds spent on upgrading and maintaining the DR 1949 which is our main access road and which in its current condition, is the cause of astronomical vehicle maintenance bills for the community as a whole. We have in the meanwhile repaired the Causeway, at our own cost, to facilitate access for our game drive vehicles to the portion of the Reserve that lies to the west of the Kariega River. Existing Causeway repaired by ourselves to facilitate access to our Game Vehicles. The Kasouga bridge, to the East of the DR 1949 intersection is a far more necessary bridge requiring repairs. This bridge is not only used by farmers accessing the Charlgrove Auction Yard with cattle trucks, but is the only access for us to reach our Bush Lodge, situated on the northern side of the Kasouga river. Since the recent floods we have used our machinery and staff to make this bridge accessible to vehicles but it requires a complete rebuild to render it safe. The severely damaged Kasouga bridge - West side approach with temporary repairs effected by the local residents The severely damaged Kasouga bridge - East side approach In Conclusion The concept of spending hundreds of thousands of Rands on rebuilding the Kariega causeway in isolation is a complete waste of public funds. This road in its present state can never serve as alternate route to the R72. The bridge over the Kasouga River is a far more strategic asset, used substantially more by the local residents and if any bridge were to be rebuilt, it should rather be this one. SANRAL should urgently attend to the existing damage to the Kenton bridge and should constantly be vigilant to the status of this structure and its surrounds. Should this happen there will be no necessity for an alternate route. APPENDIX F: ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT PROGRAMME (EMPR) PROPOSED RECONSTRUCTION OF THE KARIEGA LOW LEVEL BRIDGE IN THE EASTERN CAPE PROVINCE Prepared for: SMEC Engineers On behalf of Eastern Cape Department of Roads and Public Works Qhasana Building, Independence Avenue, Bhisho, 5605 Prepared by: EOH Coastal & Environmental Services (CES) Port Elizabeth 13 Stanley Street Richmond Hill Also in Grahamstown, East London, Gauteng, Cape Town and Maputo www.cesnet.co.za June 2015 This Report should be cited as follows: Draft Environmental Management Plan: Proposed reconstruction of the Kariega Low Level Bridge, within the Ndlambe Municipality, Eastern Cape province, EOH Coastal & Environmental Services. June 2015. Port Elizabeth. INTRODUCTION An Environmental Management Programme (EMPr) must consist of a set of mitigation, monitoring and institutional measures to be taken during implementation and operation to eliminate adverse environmental and social impacts, offset them, or reduce them to acceptable levels. The plan also includes the actions needed to implement these measures. ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT PROGRAMME An Environmental Management Programme (EMPr) can be defined as, “an environmental management tool used to ensure that undue or reasonably avoidable adverse impacts of the construction, operation and decommissioning of a project are prevented; and that the positive benefits of the project are enhanced”. EMPrs are very important tools in the sound environmental management of projects, provided the specifications are implemented and the user understands the contents of the report and the reasons for the implementation of certain specifications.

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