Robin Carlisle, the Minister for Transport and Public Works in the Western Cape has said that Chapman’s Peak was reopened to traffic at 13h00 this afternoon.
‘We have implemented a temporary safety precaution measure by erecting a 20-metre long New Jersey Barrier along the section of the road where the rock fell yesterday morning.
‘We have placed a number of the around two-ton concrete blocks on the curb on the sea side of the road, below the Half Tunnel.
‘Our intention with this temporary measure was to open the road as soon as possible. The New Jersey Barrier is there to prevent rocks from ricocheting from the drop zone onto the road, which is what happened yesterday.
‘Our abseiling team is currently descending the slopes of Chapman’s Peak in search of the origin point of the rock.’
The extremely wet slopes prevented the abseiling team from launching their mission yesterday.
'The team will hand over the information they gather, which will include photographs, to our geotechnical engineers, who will do a full assessment to determine if there are any potential risks.
'The outcome of the results will then be given to us and the operator, Entilini.'
The road was closed to traffic yesterday at 06h30am after a rock fell onto it in the early hours of the morning. The incident constituted a level four rock fall, seen as a high-risk fall that requires an immediate road closure, followed by a detailed assessment to determine the origin point of the rock.
Media enquiries:
Steven Otter
084 233 3811
