The long-awaited moment for residents and visitors of Cape Town is finally on the horizon: Kloof Road, which has been closed for more than three years, is expected to reopen to the public by mid-December, Cape {town} Etc reports.
The City’s Urban Mobility Directorate announced that the rehabilitation of the iconic road is in its final phase, and if everything proceeds on schedule, commuters will soon be able to navigate this vital link between the City Bowl and the Atlantic Seaboard suburbs.
The closure was prompted by the damage inflicted during a catastrophic Level-9 storm in September 2023, which destabilised critical embankments, rendering the road unsafe.
Mayco for Urban Mobility, Councillor Rob Quintas, confirmed during a recent site visit alongside Ward Councillor Nicola Jowell that substantial progress has been made in restoring the road to its former glory.
‘I want to thank the local community and commuters for their patience and support during this time,’ said Quintas. ‘It has been a long wait, but the end is in sight.’
The awaited reopening promises to reinstate the flow of traffic between popular destinations such as Camps Bay, Clifton, Bantry Bay, and Sea Point, all of which have been significantly impacted by the closure.
The project has focused on the restoration of not just the road but also its surrounding environment, which falls within the Table Mountain National Park. Earlier this year, efforts were made to locate and exhume indigenous plant species to protect the area’s ecological integrity.
‘The transplanting of the clippings on the reconstructed slopes has started,’ Quintas added, highlighting the balanced emphasis on infrastructure and environmental conservation.
Key rehabilitation efforts have included the installation of soil nails and gabion walls at the base of the slope failures, which serve as a support structure for the road above.
Upgraded stormwater infrastructure has also been implemented, with the majority of cobble channels rehabilitated to prevent further erosion and damage.
However, it is important for the public to understand that these repairs are focused solely on restoring what has been damaged. ‘We cannot add improvements such as walking and cycling lanes,’ Quintas clarified, emphasising the project’s specific scope while ensuring that the road will once again be safe for all traffic.
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Picture: Rob Quintas / Facebook
