Cape Town unveils Foreshore bridge and tunnel plan

Cape Town released plans on Friday for a new bridge and underground tunnel at the Foreshore, starting public engagement on a project intended to ease traffic congestion and make 15 hectares of city-centre land available for development.

Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis unveiled the proposal at the unfinished highways on 2 October. It envisages a direct inbound link to Helen Suzman Boulevard, followed by the replacement of the outbound elevated freeway with a tunnel beside Duncan Road.

The City’s published plan sets out two construction phases. Work on the first is intended to begin during the next council term, while the larger second phase is scheduled to run until 2040. Detailed design, funding decisions and statutory public participation still lie ahead.

In the first phase, the incoming freeways would gain two lanes and a link bridge over Buitengracht. The route would allow motorists travelling towards Green Point, Sea Point and the rest of the Atlantic Seaboard to bypass the city centre.

That phase also proposes an elevated outbound ramp from Buitengracht over Dock Road to the existing freeway. Bus lanes would cross Buitengracht, with a new park beneath the link bridge and a canal connecting the park to the V&A Canal. Three land parcels would become available for housing.

The second phase would add a bridge between Helen Suzman Boulevard and the outbound tunnel. The tunnel would cross vacant land between the port and Customs House, then continue alongside Duncan Road to connect to the N1 and N2.

Once that route was in place, the existing outbound viaduct would be demolished. The City says this would open space for a harbour-edge promenade, parks and further development. Its wider neighbourhood proposal includes affordable housing and streets designed for walking.

Access to the land needed for the tunnel remains an outstanding step. The municipality said it was engaging Transnet over Port Authority land south of Duncan Road.

Hill-Lewis said the existing freeways would remain operational during the phased work. He described Friday’s release of drawings as the start of consultation, with engineering design and procurement to follow before construction.

According to Eyewitness News, the mayor said the project’s cost had not yet been determined. No construction contract was announced.

The City has opened a Foreshore Precinct Project website for residents to follow the proposals. It says further consultation will cover road-scheme amendments, heritage impact assessments and other statutory requirements. Dates for those processes will be announced in the coming months.

File photo: Cape Town’s unfinished Foreshore Freeway Bridge in 2007. Photo: Paul Mannix / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0. Displayed crop.