The single-lane wooden bridge connecting The Island to the mainland was temporarily out of commission this morning due to a very large pothole that had developed at the bridgehead on The Island side.
The pothole developed earlier in the week. It grew larger and larger until it was 40 cm across - certainly big enough to grab the tire of a smaller vehicle. But not only did it grow larger, it grew deeper to the point where there was no bottom and you could see the river below... We stuck a plank over top of it until the repair crew were due to arrive and stationed someone at the bridge to warn motorists to take it extra slow. | 
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The bridge was closed to traffic for about 2 hours while the crew from Dada Civils (contracted to the Municipality) made repairs. Thinner pedestrians were able to squeeze between the bakkie and the bridge railing to come & go, but otherwise, no bikes, strollers, cars, etc. were able to pass.
The bridge was re-opened to traffic around 1:30 p.m. while the crew continued working, applying concrete cement to the underside of the bridgehead foundation where there was a large hole.
The bridge was re-opened to traffic around 1:30 p.m. while the crew continued working, applying concrete cement to the underside of the bridgehead foundation where there was a large hole.
The maximum load capacity of the bridge is 2 metric tonnes - not much more than a small sedan (worth remembering before you jump on the tail of the driver crossing ahead of you....) - so the crew from Dada had to load gravel onto a bakkie and offload it manually. | 
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| A thin layer of asphalt will be applied to the surface next week, but that should be a quick job and unlikely to disrupt traffic flow too much. |
Thanks to Werner & the rest of the guys at Dada Civils for the emergency repair. It was a hot day, too.
Incidentally, the wooden surface of the bridge is expected to undergo refurbishment some time in February - and it will be once again closed to traffic at that time. I'll post more details here once they're known.
