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Getting to and from the beach areas along the Atlantic Seaboard in the summer is already a bit of a sweltering nightmare.

It takes yonks to get your beach day in when the traffic on the tiny, maze-like roads becomes almost impossible, and then you have to perform a small miracle to find a parking spot. The locals loathe it because suddenly, their backyard is packed with every cozzy-clad Tom, Dick and his dog which makes taking a cold dip feel like a million miles away.

Beach days this summer are set to be more of an obstacle as one of the main routes into Camps Bay will be closed for an estimated 24 months.

That’s Kloof Road between Kloof Nek Road and Round House Road in Cape Town, which was severely damaged by the extreme storm in September.

Over the long weekend of 24 September, the level nine storm event caused major landslides across Cape Town and thus, that particular section of the road has been deemed unsafe for the foreseeable future.

The City of Cape Town’s Urban Mobility Directorate has authorised the major reconstruction required on this road and advised residents and visitors to use alternative routes to stay clear of this portion of the road, per IOL:

The volume of rain over this weekend in an already saturated environment caused uncontrolled surface water runoff, which resulted in the instability of the embankment.

Image: City Of Cape Town

This instability caused a slip failure of the slope along Kloof Road, meaning, the road surface and underlying layers are currently unstable and therefore not safe for public access.

Image: City Of Cape Town

A geotechnical engineer has been employed by the City to fully assess the situation, per Mayco Member for Urban Mobility, Rob Quintas:

“At this stage, we need to complete an investigation which includes soil testing and drilling, then come up with a design based on the investigation, followed by the procurement process to carry out the construction. All of these processes will take some time to conclude.”

Quintas said that the city is well aware that this road is an important route for many residents, and will have an impact on other routes serving Clifton, Camps Bay, and the rest of the destinations along the Atlantic Seaboard as more traffic will now be diverted to these alternative roads.

Apparently, the Transport Planning and Network Management branch is finalising a traffic management plan ahead of the festive season in anticipation of traffic congestion in the area.

So, they’ll be the ones to conjure up small miracles for approximately two years.

[sources:iol]