Background
Since November 2021, the Garden Route District Municipality area has experienced repeated flooding events in which numerous river crossings and roadway infrastructure have often been overtopped, undermined and significantly damaged. The Western Cape Department of Infrastructure (DOI) had to conduct strategic road condition and flood damage assessments to drive its response to restoring access with necessary measures. These action measures include: partial road closures, ensuring the safety of road users, and providing the necessary conditions for transport infrastructure recovery, as well as resilience and sustainability. Main Road 355 (MR355), also known as the Seven Passes Road, is an example of the measures undertaken by DOI to respond to the need for safe road infrastructure in the longer term.
Seven Passes Road (MR355)
A culvert was completely washed away at km 3.75 on the Seven Passes Road during major storm events and flooding in November 2021. DOI’s initial response was to assess the roadway for safe passage, to remove debris, and to put temporary measures in place, including traffic accommodation and public notifications under the leadership of the Oudtshoorn District Roads Engineer and Garden Route District Municipality road services. The road was reopened for a short period of time. Subsequently, further DOI assessments indicated that the extent of damage required specialist engineering services to put appropriate design solutions in place to reinstate safe travelling conditions for road users and enhance the resilience of the drainage infrastructure so that it can better withstand future flood events.
In May 2022, DOI appointed Hatch Africa (Pty) Ltd to provide these engineering professional services in close collaboration with in-house DOI staff and other resources. This appointment was for the flood damage repairs to Seven Passes Road and other divisional roads in the area (namely MR355, DR1633, DR1791, DR1639 and DR1602). During the design investigations, DOI and its partners have liaised and collaborated with Heritage Western Cape (HWC) and the Department of Environmental Affairs and Development Planning (DEADP) to ensure that the design solutions consider and incorporate the heritage and environment aspects of these historical routes. For projects of this nature, it is critical to involve these bodies to proactively manage project implementation, design solutions and environmental/heritage compliance wherever this is required.
Due to funding limitations and the widespread flood damage across the vast Western Cape government road network, it was decided to postpone the flood damage repairs on these roads. This allowed DOI and the project role-players to conduct investigations and finalise resilient and sustainable damage repair design solutions. Under our C1157.02 appointment, the design solutions and scope were approved in May 2024 to proceed with detailed design with the commissioning of specialist geotechnical surveys to inform the final design details.
The approved design solution may be summarised as follows:
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Cut slope geotechnical to improve soil stability, control erosion and enhance load-bearing capacity
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Removal of debris and vegetation from existing drainage structures
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Reinstatement and enhancement of side drains
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Upgrading and enhancement of select drainage structures for improved capacity
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Repairs and reinstatement of existing drainage structures using heritage techniques on affected walls
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Repairs to fill slope repairs and reinstatement of road layerworks and surfacing
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Repair of damaged bridge end-blocks using the same aesthetics as the original structures
DOI flood damage repairs response strategy – C1157.02
In October 2024, DOI received additional funding from the National Disaster Management Centre (Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs – COGTA) in response to widespread flood damage across the Western Cape. In response to the stringent conditions that applied to this funding, DOI embarked on a flood damage repairs response strategy across several district municipalities and more than ten construction projects. C1157.02 forms part of this broader response strategy. Our thanks go to our national government colleagues for their financial assistance and support in project implementation.
In February 2025, DOI submitted an application to HWC for approval for work to be done on DR1602 and DR1791 and we are close to finalising our application for environmental authorisation with DEADP. This process is expected to take up to 9 months, depending on the public participation process. To this end, DOI hopes that continual engagement with interested and affected parties, through publications and other means, may facilitate and assist this public participation process.
In March 2025, our geotechnical survey was established on site, following several unanticipated delays in acquiring permits and identifying details of existing services infrastructure along Seven Passes Road. The geotechnical survey was completed, and all other related investigations were closed out. In close collaboration with the appointed consultant Hatch Africa (Pty) Ltd, DOI has finalised the designs and the work has been issued to various contractors through a limited bid process – this limited bid process and the appointment of a successful contractor will follow soon.
At this stage, the cost of flood damage repair works is estimated at R53.4 million with a construction period of approximately 18 months. DOI has advertised the tender through a limited bid process at the end of March 2025, with construction anticipated to commence in early September 2025. Due to the extent of damage to the Seven Passes Road, we only expect to reinstate the full travelway and open the road in the last quarter of the 2026 calendar year.
“We note the frustrations and inconveniences caused as Seven Passes Road offered an alternative route to the national route N2 between George and the greater Wilderness area,” said Mr Tertuis Simmers, Western Cape Minister of Infrastructure. “These frustrations are further compounded by current construction works along the N2 by the South African National Roads Agency (SANRAL), especially upgrades from George to Wilderness through Kaaimans River Pass,” Minister Simmers added.
“We have received several reports of local road users still making use of Seven Passes Road by bypassing road closure temporary measures. This is an illegal act and places road users at risk while subjecting the already-damaged roads infrastructure to further traffic loading that increases the risk of catastrophic failure and further fill slope collapses. If this were to happen, this will further delay our repair efforts and delay the reopening of the route. We appeal to all road users to adhere to traffic accommodation measures as road safety is of utmost importance,” Minister Simmers concluded.
Enquiries:
Melt Botes
Spokesperson to Provincial Minister Tertuis Simmers
E-mail: Melchior.Botes@westerncape.gov.za
Cell: 021 483 8067 / 082 431 0068
Stephen Heyns
Acting Head of Communication, Department of Infrastructure
E-mail: stephen.heyns@westerncape.gov.za
Cell: 021 483 0597
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