{"id":864462,"date":"2026-06-24T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-24T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=864462"},"modified":"2026-06-24T11:12:18","modified_gmt":"2026-06-24T09:12:18","slug":"major-bridges-in-south-africas-largest-city-at-risk-of-collapse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/government\/864462\/major-bridges-in-south-africas-largest-city-at-risk-of-collapse\/","title":{"rendered":"Major bridges in South Africa’s largest city at risk of collapse"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Authorities have warned that ongoing illegal excavations beneath bridges along the M1 and M2 motorways could lead to infrastructure failure if left unchecked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While this is a major concern and the bridges are at risk, engineers have noted that the bridges remain safe for now. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is the feedback from Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA) CEO Zweli Nyathi, who stressed that illegal excavations of bricks and sand underneath the city\u2019s bridges are a serious concern. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In an interview with 702 Drive<\/a>, Nyathi explained that the JRA recently conducted assessments of bridges along both the M1 and M2.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This followed what officials described as\u201can alarming number of people living beneath the structures and evidence that material was being removed from around their foundations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYesterday we embarked on an assessment, especially of the infrastructure around M1 and M2,\u201d Nyathi said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have seen that some bricks are now missing, and they\u2019re starting to even mine the sand, which is part of the embankment and support structure of the bridges.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He explained that the inspection covered multiple bridges rather than a single site, including structures near End Street and Anderson Street on the M2. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While images of the excavation have raised fears that the bridges could collapse, Nyathi stressed that engineers who accompanied the inspection found the structures themselves remain safe for now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe bridge itself, the support structure is the pillars and the steel rods that are beneath the surface,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe structure itself is still intact. It\u2019s just that if there is this continuous digging, the vagrants might end up now wanting to cut the steel and other things and go underneath.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nyathi said officials also discovered people living in excavated holes beneath the bridges, where they could access underground infrastructure and services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere are some people who are staying in the holes, and on those bridges, it makes it easy to access some of the networks or services underneath the city,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI can assure the citizens that the bridges are structurally sound. We had a lot of engineers with us yesterday, but the continuous excavation and damage might lead to infrastructure collapse. So that\u2019s what we\u2019re trying to avoid.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Security patrols may be needed to protect the bridges<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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He acknowledged that the extensive excavation appears to have taken place over a significant period.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe infrastructure is under attack there. It\u2019s not only just the bridge; they\u2019re looking for cables, and there are guardrails missing on top,\u201d Nyathi said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The JRA has already deployed teams to carry out urgent mitigation work after identifying immediate safety risks, including missing guardrails that could cause vehicles to leave the roadway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Asked whether permanent security may be needed to protect the bridges, Nyathi said the option is being considered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf it needs to happen that way, we\u2019ll have to do it. We don\u2019t have a choice because it might be costly to fix the infrastructure, and it might even cost lives, compared to paying security to be deployed there,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He added that officials encountered armed and aggressive individuals, including suspected illegal miners, during the inspection. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat\u2019s what we were confronted with yesterday when we were doing assessments, and some of them looked very armed and aggressive. We had to call for backup.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although Nyathi said motorists can continue using the affected roads with confidence for now, he warned that the situation is deteriorating and requires urgent action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Damage to M2 Bridge \u2013 photos<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Authorities have warned that ongoing illegal excavations beneath bridges could lead to infrastructure failure if left unchecked.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":92,"featured_media":864468,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[24616,24754,853],"class_list":["post-864462","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-government","tag-city-of-johannesburg-coj","tag-johannesburg-roads-agency-jra","tag-south-africa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/864462","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/92"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=864462"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/864462\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":864489,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/864462\/revisions\/864489"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/864468"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=864462"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=864462"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=864462"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}