Provincial Minister of Infrastructure Tertuis Simmers and Langeberg Mayor Schalk van Eeden cut a ribbon to open the Cogmanskloof Pass in Montagu on 23 July 2022. This marked the completion of the Western Cape Government’s R528m rehabilitation of Trunk Road 31/2 from km 15.4 west of Ashton to km 1.4 east of Montagu through Cogmanskloof Pass.
Construction of the pass project commenced in May 2019 and entailed the reconstruction of Cogmanskloof Pass. Three bridges – the Ashton Arch Bridge, Boy Retief Bridge and Voortrekker Bridge – were replaced. Over R79m was spent on emerging contractor development, over 600 individual work opportunities were created, and over R600 000 was spent on training courses for local labourers. Approximately R16.5m was spent on local subcontractors, manufacturers, and suppliers. By the time the project was complete, a total of 42% of the contract value had been allocated to the creation of economic opportunities and entrepreneurial capacity in the surrounding areas.
Provincial Minister Simmers said: “The opening of the Cogmanskloof Pass is not only a historic moment for the Western Cape Government, it is an even greater one for the community of this region. Nearly 630 job opportunities were created during the various construction phases of this project, and we certainly expect more opportunities to be created as result of the rehabilitation of this infrastructure.”
Additional work conducted at Cogmanskloof included reconstruction of the roadway; the addition of 1.5m wide surfaced shoulders; raising the existing road level at various positions to improve flood protection; rebuilding the bridge at km 22.2 (Boy Retief Bridge); improving the horizontal alignment between km 23.7 and km 24.2 (Aasvoëlkrans); building scour protection at the existing bridge at km 23.59 (Billy Loftus Bridge); and building rest areas and pedestrian walkways.
The primary objective of this project was to reconstruct the roadway to a higher standard to improve traffic and pedestrian safety, as well as to improve the flood capacity of bridges and to prevent overtopping of the road during floods.
“The Western Cape Government continues to pave the way in providing cutting edge infrastructure projects, which are both sustainable and innovative. We are building the Western Cape, and building our economy,” concluded Simmers.