Excavation at the west end of Putt Bridge in Port Alfred has had business owners despairing about lost trade during their busiest period of the year; and residents coming from miles to marvel at the massive hole. What was intended to be a three-day project to re-lay a section of sewerage, has turned out much bigger and more complicated.
Van der Riet Street, in the CBD, has experienced frequent sewage spills over the past few years. In August, Talk of the Town reported that prime tenants of the area’s riverfront gem, a 2000-metres-square complex that spans numbers 31-37 and is listed for sale at R20.5 million, were frustrated and angry at the effect these were having on their operations.
“People come to the area for a meal, or to one of the businesses in the area, and they often turn around and go somewhere else: if there isn’t a current sewage spill, then it’s piles of paving stones and excavations left uncovered. It leaves a very bad impression for visitors,” said one business owner at the time.
With a new, experienced contractor on board, Ndlambe Municipality vowed to pursue a long-term, sustainable solution.
Investigations by Lukhozi Consulting Engineers had found that the spills were mainly caused by fat deposits in the sewerage pipe that reduced its actual diameter (160mm) to around 100mm, significantly reducing the flow. Jetting, along with a chemical to dissolve the deposits, were attempted.
Further maintenance was scheduled for mid-November.
In a notice issued to local businesses and dated November 20, the municipal manager explained that because of multiple underground services, this maintenance plan had been revised. Maintenance work would start on Wednesday November 27 and end on Saturday November 30.
“During the maintenance period, Van der Riet Street will be closed to all traffic,” the notice read. “Businesses located on this street are advised to make necessary arrangements as access may be temporarily restricted.”
On Friday November 29, stunned residents and business owners looked aghast at what was already a massive hole and was rapidly getting bigger.
While business owners appreciated that Ndlambe Municipality and its contractors, Lukhozi Engineers, took the time to brief them and answer questions earlier this week, it didn’t allay their concerns about losing trade.
“It couldn’t have happened at a worse time of the year,” said owner-manager of Kowie Hardware, Vanessa Gerber.
“They have explained to us how it happened – that when they did the exploratory digging, they discovered a hornet’s nest of other issues. But unfortunately for us and other businesses in the street, it’s a disaster.”
The contractors were doing their best to move the rubble, but access remained difficult.
“We’ve had to create a new entrance – but there’s trucks going back and forth, which I think puts a lot of people off. Our deliveries aren’t arriving because the couriers say they don’t know how to get to us; customers have phoned us to ask if we’re open.
“[Ndlambe’s contractors] have promised to complete the work by the 13th and have cleaned up by the 20th. But for 90% of the people in Van der Riet Street, that’s our December trade finished. From the 25th onwards, the only trade is [for the grocery retail stores].
“Maybe the restaurants will get a little bit of business – but no one is buying hardware or furniture in the week between Christmas and New Year,” Gerber said.
At Tuesday’s meeting, one business owner asked if Van der Riet Street businesses would receive compensation from the municipality for loss of income. The answer had been a firm ‘no’,” Gerber said.
OK Furniture, usually buzzing with customers during December, had been quiet, Gerber said. “Their trade usually reaches them on foot – but people don’t want to walk through sewage and mud,” Gerber said. Talk of the Town was not able to reach the furniture retailer for comment.
However, we spoke to Hannes Coetzee, owner of Hannes Motors. Hannes Motors is closest to the digging and is the most severely affected.
“Ja no it’s not lekker,” Coetzee said. “[The contractors] are helping by opening the way a bit so we can get in and out. But there are customers who didn’t show up and when I phoned and asked them, they said they thought we were closed.
“Really it’s not good for business.”
Ursula van Eck, owner of Tales & Fables bookshop, said the issue with the repairs was the timing.
“This is a job that has been in the making for four years. We’ve been told repeatedly it requires a highly experienced engineer. But they have started it less than two weeks before tourists arrive, and only days before the [schools] boat race.
“It’s turned out to be a huge job, and now at the start of the season, because of poor planning, there’s a huge pile of sand and no access to Van der Riet Street unless you go around via Campbell Street. All the shops around there are tourism-based shops… and this is already starting to affect business. We are paying extra for this because of poor planning.”
Port Alfred Business Forum chairperson Clinton Millard, who also owns Van der Riet Street based business Multi Security, said, “We need the work to be done: we need it to be fixed, so we have to try and manage the situation. [Infrastructure director] Dr Vithi has gone out of her way to help the businesses through this period.
“It’s not ideal that it’s happening at this time; but having the right contractors in place and having the municipality engaging with us to try and figure out what the problem is has made it a bit easier.”
What is happening in Main Street?
Lukhozi Consulting Engineers is contracted to carry out the installation of sewerage on Port Alfred’s *East Bank. Because the Van der Riet Street sewage spills were thought to be solveable through replacing a relatively short section of pipe, they were called away from their core contract to attend what should have been a quick fix.
But it turned out that fatty deposits constricting flow were not the only issue: the slope for the sewerage line was also incorrect. Adding to the chaos they found underground was the bi-daily high tide, which filled the excavation, making work during those times impossible, and also made the excavation bigger than planned.
The contractors confirmed that they would re-lay the line between the manhole in Main Street and the last manhole in Van der Riet Street; however, this section would have to be extended and the connecting point moved further back, to achieve the required slope.
“The biggest challenge we’ve been having, which we didn’t really anticipate at all, was the collapse of our excavation. It’s become a lot bigger than what we anticipated.”
Once the new, extended pipe has been re-laid, the road substructure will be rebuilt in layers: first, underneath the new pipe, rock; then stone, then sand, and then the pipe, along with insulation around it.
After that they will start with the fill – two different grades of gravel, then sand. All of this will need to be compacted before the paving is replaced.
Meanwhile, there are the tides: twice a day, at high tide, the hole fills up with water.
“Given all that’s involved, I don’t foresee the job being finished by the 13th,” Gerber said. “It’s sad for everybody in this road.”
*The article originally, incorrectly, said West bank.
