Reminder: Franschhoek Pass: Daily closures for construction

Media release by Western Cape Minister of Infrastructure, Tertuis Simmers  

The Franschhoek Pass which connects Franschhoek and the towns of Grabouw and Villiersdorp will be closed between 8 am and 5 pm on weekdays for construction purposes.

The pass was open during the festive season, but construction has commenced again. As communicated in December 2023, the pass is closed again from 8 January 2024 till the end of February 2024.

The pass was reopened to selected categories of light motor vehicles after it was closed following a severe weather system that hit the Western Cape during the Heritage Day long weekend. The teams started working on temporary repairs as soon as the engineering team was satisfied that the landslips had stabilised sufficiently to start work.

The works have reached a point where the pass must be closed daily to initiate the soil-nailing process, of phase one. Soil nailing is a technique used to stabilise existing slopes. This soil reinforcement process uses metal tendons which are drilled and grouted into the soil to create something that represents a gravity wall. For this to be done, the pass needs to be closed due to the size of the equipment that is used and the size of the working area required.

Light motor vehicles will be able to traverse the pass outside of the closure times. The use of the pass, even during times when the pass is open, by vehicles with a mass of more than 5 tons remains strictly prohibited.

Road users are strongly advised to continue using alternative routes.

Speaking on the resumption of construction works provincial Minister of Infrastructure Tertuis Simmers said. “Thank you to our teams that have resumed construction work at the site. Notably a week ahead of the sector’s traditional return from “builders' break”. This is, however, consistent with the commitment made last year to have the road closed from the 8 January and allow for the restoration works to proceed uninterrupted.”

“I urge our road users to take note of the scheduled daily closures and adhere to the signs. The safety of all road users remains our primary concern,” concluded the Minister.

Work on permanent repairs continues. The department foresees that it will still be a considerable period before the pass will allow two-way traffic. The first of various temporary closures will be in place as per the tables below.

Reference table