Muizenberg’s infamous ‘truck-eating bridge’ may be redesigned, says City

The City of Cape Town says it is considering implementing changes to Muizenberg’s railway bridge, popularly known as the truck-eating bridge, to curb the number of trucks sustaining damages after failing to heed the signs.

This follows a recent incident on Tuesday 17 June when the infamous railway bridge dubbed “Bridget” claimed another victim. The delivery truck sustained significant damage after the driver allegedly failed to heed the 2,5 metre height warning sign.

The City says it has exhausted its current options when it comes to alleviating the number of over-height vehicles sustaining damages when trying to cross Bridget on Atlantic Road.

Rob Quintas, Mayco member for urban mobility, says: “Our strategies included: the implementation of various signage and other safety measures on all approaches to the bridge to alert drivers to the height restriction and guide them toward alternative routes via Albertyn Road, which can safely accommodate over-height vehicles safely over the railway line. As well as technology-based warning systems which have been installed on both sides of the bridge to further assist in alerting drivers of the approaching height restriction.”

People’s Post spoke with Muizenberg resident Kevin Rack, who says he lives close to the bridge with a window that faces directly towards it.

“One day I saw a truck driver reverse a double articulated truck down Atlantic Road after breaking just before the bridge. It takes great skill to reverse a double articulated truck down such a narrow road. I interviewed 95 drivers who either hit or nearly missed the bridge causing traffic congestion.

“This section is very poor urban design, it is counter intuitive as well as hard for trucks to turn right down Vlei and Albertyn roads than to go left to the waiting jaws of Bridgette. The drivers have a lot of pressure with their GPS nagging them to go left,” he said.

More recently, he has noted a reduction in truck collisions near Bridget through the safety awareness campaigns done by the community and the City but feels more could be done to avoid more accidents and traffic congestion.

“There has been a drastic reduction in the number of trucks hitting the bridge. There are times where there were four hits in a week. The Facebook group has been phenomenal in raising the awareness of the problem embarrassing the City into action. The City engineers were brilliant, it did take a lot of coming back and forth and back again, to reduce the number of strikes with height sensors, signage and flashing lights. The problem then was the traffic congestion in getting the stopped truck around, however after a radio interview we asked Google to adjust their maps,” he said.

Quintas added the Urban Mobility Directorate has commissioned a report to investigate introducing an overhead gong and plan how this would work operationally.

The results of this study will be available in the coming weeks.

“Further, as part of the current congestion alleviation project in Muizenberg, the technical team investigated the feasibility of eliminating the Albertyn Road rail level crossing by means of a grade separated structure (Henley Overpass). The outcome of the study revealed that the overpass was geometrically achievable. The overpass was not continued through to preliminary design and the associated statutory approvals (environmental and heritage), but it was recommended that a new project be commissioned to explore the options of eliminating the Albertyn Road rail level crossing. This Level Crossing Elimination (LCE) project should, at least, include raising the rail bridge/lowering Atlantic Road and the Henley Overpass as options to provide safe overhead clearance for heavy vehicles,” he said.

All of the above-mentioned options remain at a very early stage and once a final decision is made, the implementation will be subject to budget availability.

“Incidents at this location typically involve drivers who are either unaware of their vehicle’s height or disregard the clearly marked signage. Professional drivers, in particular, have a responsibility to know the dimensions of their vehicles and to operate them safely to avoid collisions that cause significant delays and disruptions for other road users,” Quintas said.

Zinobulali Mihi, Prasa spokesperson, said the bridge is “in accordance with the correct structural specifications for bridges.

“The road is also marked with the correct signage, including the one on the bridge. PRASA Western Cape advises motorists to take the necessary precautions whilst using the bridge and to adhere to the road signage.”