What's next for unfinished highway?

DEVELOPMENT of Cape Town’s unfinished freeways has long been unresolved.

In recent years, they seemed to be a permanent set for movie stunts, reality shows and TV commercials.

In 2011, the former provincial transport MEC Robin Carlisle said completing the freeways was not on his priority list because it would cost around R2.5 billion, although their structural integrity was not good.

Nelson Mandela Boulevard was conceptualised in the 1960s, when the elevated freeway along the Foreshore was mooted as part of a ring-road for the CBD.

But the project was halted in 1977 because traffic volumes did not justify completing the inner viaducts.

During his tenure, former Cape Town Partnership chief executive Andrew Boraine called for the unfinished bridges to be demolished if the city council was not going to complete them.

Boraine said the wasted space could be better used for urban regeneration projects including housing and mixed-used developments.

In 2012, the council reignited the debate through a partnership with UCT as part of a World Design Capital programme.

The project invited 600 engineering and built-environment students to suggest ways to develop the foreshore and the unfinished bridges.

Put on display in 2014, their proposals included demolishing the bridges, freeing up space for social housing and creating public open spaces.

Other suggestions included turning the freeways into skate parks or roller-coasters.

Those who favoured creating public open space suggested constructing waterways under the bridges, creating gardens and farming projects and building a street arcade.

One proposal even suggested re-connecting the city with the sea through canals.

The council has in the past also considered creating parking under the unfinished flyovers like in Japan.

It has further mulled suggestions to create viewing platforms and a museum.