M1 Bridge Collapse - Grayston Drive

rpm

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The second person killed when the support structure of a pedestrian bridge over the M1 highway collapsed on Wednesday has been recovered, emergency services said.

The two victims were a taxi driver and a man in a Toyota Fortuner, spokesperson Robert Mulaudzi said.

Of the 21 people injured, five were critical.

The scene had been handed over to engineers who would start work on removing the structure. It was not clear how long this would take. Mulaudzi said they would work through the night.

The structure, which was intended to support the bridge still under construction, collapsed on Wednesday afternoon, crashing onto cars and blocking both the north- and south-bound lanes of the highway near Grayston Drive.

Construction company Murray & Roberts said in a statement there was still no clarity on the cause, its directors were at the scene, and its immediate priority was to ensure that those affected were taken care of.

News24 - http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/Second-body-retrieved-from-under-collapsed-M1-bridge-20151014
 

Electron1

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Drove over Grayston bridge last night just after 8pm. Very little traffic but lots of spectators. Trucks lined up on M1 to clear take away the mess.
 

Electron1

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https://www.enca.com/south-africa/johannesburg-traffic-plans-wake-bridge-collapse
JOHANNESBURG – After the bridge collapse on the M1 at Grayston Drive, the City of Joburg has put in place various contingency plans to ease the traffic congestion that awaits motorists on Thursday.

Parts of the M1 will be closed until further notice, which has led to the municipality locking arms with Gautrain and Putco buses.

All Putco services from Soweto-Sandton, Sunninghill & Fourways will be free all day tomorrow #Bridgecollapse #Ecomobility @Yfm @TrafficSA^TK

— City of Joburg (@CityofJoburgZA) October 14, 2015
All @TheGautrain buses in Gauteng will be free tomorrow. #Bridgecollapse #Ecomobility #Joburgecomoility @TrafficSA @5FM @TimModise^TK

— City of Joburg (@CityofJoburgZA) October 14, 2015

All Putco services from Soweto to Sandton, Sunninghill and Fourways will be free all day today.

Metrobus will be maximising services on their north and south routes today, Gautrain buses will also be free the entire day.

JMPD will have pointsmen on all alternative routes to the M1 today to assist the flow of traffic, including at the Rivonia /N1 offramp, with the Malborough and Grayston bridges set to remain open for traffic to cross over the M1.

The EcoMobility restrictions in the Sandton CBD have also been lifted due to the M1 Grayston incident.

Metrobuses coming into Sandton will also be free tomorrow.From gandhi square, Midrand,Sunninghill and Westgate in Roodepoort #Bridgecollapse

— City of Joburg (@CityofJoburgZA) October 14, 2015
Catch our #Joburgecomobility park & rides tomorrow #Bridgecollapse ecomobility @EWNTraffic @TrafficSA @itrafficgp^TK pic.twitter.com/ex4CVtNcTa

— City of Joburg (@CityofJoburgZA) October 14, 2015
 

Electron1

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Avoid the area for now it seems.

City of Joburg Retweeted
Phindile Chauke ‏@NewzJournalist 17 minutes ago
3rd person succumbed to injuries from the #Scaffoldingcollapse on M1 in Sandton. 3 killed in total.

City of Joburg ‏@CityofJoburgZA 21 minutes ago
JHB - M1 South, #BridgeCollapse ROAD CLOSED at the N1 Buccleuch Interchange - expect heavy pressure from Midrand / Fourways / Linbro Park^TK

City of Joburg ‏@CityofJoburgZA 24 minutes ago
JHB - M1 North, #BridgeCollapse ROAD CLOSED from Athol Oaklands Road in Melrose #M1closed^TK

City of Joburg ‏@CityofJoburgZA 25 minutes ago
JMPD points man are also deployed at the Rivonia /N1 offramp to assist motorists coming into Sandton area #Bridgecollapse #M1closed ^TK

City of Joburg ‏@CityofJoburgZA 27 minutes ago
Malborough and Grayston bridges will remain open for traffic to cross over the M1 #Jhbtraffic #Bridgecollapse #M1Closed ^TK
 

Necropolis

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Wow.

Would have thought they'd keep the Marlboro and Corlett drive on ramps open.
 

creeper

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Wow.

Would have thought they'd keep the Marlboro and Corlett drive on ramps open.

There may be a few reasons. Everyone will still hog the highways and overwhelm Corlett and Marlboro if the closure was there. It will put even worse strain on those roads. If you move the closure further back, it force the people to use multiple alternatives, leading to better distribution of vehicles. A type of queuing theory. The other reason may be to have the recovery team to have open roads to move the debris
 

Necropolis

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They must have put it there last night so that the cranes and heavy vehicles don't damage the road surface.

Good point :)

There may be a few reasons. Everyone will still hog the highways and overwhelm Corlett and Marlboro if the closure was there. It will put even worse strain on those roads. If you move the closure further back, it force the people to use multiple alternatives, leading to better distribution of vehicles. A type of queuing theory. The other reason may be to have the recovery team to have open roads to move the debris

I suppose it also makes the movement of trucks and other equipment to the site a lot easier.
 

schumi

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Third person dies following M1 bridge collapse

JOHANNESBURG - It’s been confirmed that a third person has died after Wednesday's scaffolding collapse across the M1 highway.

Twenty-two others were injured when the heavy metal structure supporting a pedestrian bridge crashed, trapping several cars.

Emergency services say the highway remains closed as recovery operations continue.

According to contractors, the heavy metal scaffolding was blown over by strong winds.

Emergency services’ Robert Mulaudzi says operations are progressing well to clear the debris.

He’s also appealed to motorists not to use the emergency lane as that is strictly reserved for emergency vehicles.

“We can confirm that the highway is still closed and advice motorists to use alternative routes. Obviously the other part of the M1 is still operating but as soon as they get to Grayston, it is closed.”

More at http://ewn.co.za/2015/10/15/Third-person-dies-following-M1-bridge-collapse
 

Necropolis

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I don't buy the "strong winds" story.

It was hardly like Joburg was hit by a category 5 hurricane yesterday...
 

LazyLion

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[video=youtube;KPhCOtoLHG0]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPhCOtoLHG0&sns=em[/video]
 
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