Winde visited the flood-hit Meiringspoort and Swartberg Passes in the Klein Karoo, where he received updates on restoration work.
Winde says the permanent restoration of Meiringspoort is expected to take at least two years, while temporary access is planned by December.
He has urged motorists, particularly truck drivers, to obey road closures and use alternative routes while repairs continue.
“We’ve got teams working on all of these roads and all of these bridges across the province, running into billions of rands worth of damage. And, of course, we are pulling budgets from wherever possible so that we can actually conclude these infrastructure rebuilds, and we’ve also got to rebuild them in a way that they don’t wash away again. And, of course, these are the trade-offs that we’ve got to work on, but we’re really also encouraged by the communities in all of these regions and how they do understand the impact,” he says.
About the Author
