Cummings Bridge to be reconstructed as Sheriff/Mandela Road project progresses

Jul 21, 2019 News

— power outages for several city areas

As works continue on the Sheriff Mandela road upgrade projects, the Cummings Bridge located at the intersection of Durey Lane and Sheriff Street will be reconstructed.

Engineer with the Ministry of Public Infrastructure, Mark Greene

As a result, the bridge will be inaccessible to normal traffic this weekend.
Public Infrastructure Engineer, Mark Greene, explained, “We will have a detour in operation; however, that diversion is simply for heavy-duty traffic, such as trucks.”
That was to have happened yesterday.
Greene, according to a government release, further explained that vehicles would be diverted on both the northern approach and the southern approach. This, he said, is to allow “the crane, which has a hammer attached to it, to assist with the pile driving and also the works with the abutment and so forth… “
The power outages are scheduled for today and are necessary to facilitate the heavy machinery that will be used to demolish the bridge and drive the piles in place.
The electrical lines would be a hindrance to works set out. Areas that will be affected are Bel Air Park, Hadfield Street Lodge, First Street Campbellville, Marriott Hotel, and sections of Sheriff Street and Mandela Avenue.

The bypass constructed around the Cummings Bridge

The traffic diversions for light vehicles are as follows- vehicles heading towards Mandela Avenue from the Rupert Craig Highway are asked to divert onto First Street, Campbellville onto Stone Avenue and into Garnett Street where they can then return to Sheriff Street.
Vehicles heading in the opposite direction are asked to divert to Garnett Street, onto Middleton Street into Durey Lane and then back to Sheriff Street.
Heavy-duty trucks traversing the carriageway will be allowed to use a bypass constructed at the bridge. This will be open to two-way traffic during the day, but at night, only laden trucks headed towards the direction of the Rupert Craig Highway will be allowed to utilise the bypass. Trucks heading towards Mandela Avenue will be diverted towards Vlissengen Road.
The Ministry is urging the general public to adhere to the notices that would have since been published in the local papers and are currently running on the airwaves.
They also advised if there is no urgent need to use the Sheriff Street carriageway, drivers should avoid it altogether for the weekend.