Chaos on KZN beaches, 'but it will be ready'

Beachfront residents and visitors face daily frustrations as construction teams, complete with earth-moving equipment, take over the area as part of the Golden Mile's major revamp.

Detours are commonplace, as are trenches running across and alongside roads.

In fact, the chaos is such that if you were visiting Durban for the first time, it would be difficult to believe this stretch of beach is one of the best and most popular in the country, particularly with local tourists.

But by the time the R100 million development is complete - by the middle of April - city officials believe the facilities will be vastly improved and will boost the Golden Mile's popularity among local and international visitors.

And, according to the development's project co-ordinator, Mike Andrews, public comment is starting to reflect that people believe the short-term pain is going to be vastly outweighed by the gains.

Initially there was a lot of scepticism and complaints about the project.

"From the more recent comments being received, both residents and visitors are starting to recognise the benefits," Andrews said via e-mail this week.

When completed, the revamp will include a 5km-long promenade stretching from uShaka Beach in the south to Country Club Beach (at Durban Country Club) in the north.

It will also incorporate a link from Country Club Beach to the Moses Mabhida Stadium, allowing fans to move easily between the beachfront and the stadium on match days.

Of the total R100m, R75m has gone towards lengthening and widening the promenade. It will be between 15m and 20m wide along its distance, allowing for ease of movement. Improved lighting is also being installed.

Apart from this week, when skies were clear and temperatures consistently above the 30186C mark, the city has had large amounts of rain, leading to concern from some quarters that the beachfront might not be completed ahead of the World Cup, which is only four months away.

There were also initial concerns over time because the environmental impact assessment took six weeks longer than expected, meaning workers couldn't get on site as quickly as city officials had hoped.

However, Andrews said the weather was taken into account when the development went out to contract, and the recent bad weather would not result in the development being delayed.

"In terms of progress, the city is managing several contracts on the beachfront, but as an overall indication we are 60 percent complete.

"For the most part, the city structured the various building contracts with the view to a March 31 completion date, on the understanding that delays could push this date to mid-April - and this remains realistic," he said.

This leaves just two months to finish 40 percent of the work. But officials remain confident that everything will be finished in time.

Sunday Tribune

Posted at 08:29AM Feb 15, 2010 by Editor in Market  |