Overhead bridge to be constructed at Buttskop level-crossing
|Published
DEADLY: 17 people died at Buttskop crossing. Picture: File image DEADLY: 17 people died at Buttskop crossing. Picture: File image
Nearly a decade after a
horrific crash claimed the lives of 10 children at the Buttskop level-crossing when their minibus taxi was hit by a train, the City of Cape Town is finally busy with plans to construct an
overhead bridge.
Mayco member for transport Felicity Purchase said: “Level crossings are locations where vehicle traffic intersects with railway tracks.
“Ten of these crossings have booms that regulate the flow of vehicles over the railway tracks.
“The booms are managed and operated by Prasa. The Buttskop Road level-crossing is one of those that are boom-controlled in Cape Town,” she said.
The Buttskop level
crossing has seen two deadly train/vehicle crashes in the past, in which 17 people tragically lost their lives.
“Short-term improvements are nearing completion, while the preliminary design of the proposal to eliminate the level crossing altogether will be
completed towards the end of 2019, if all goes as planned,” said Purchase.
The cost of the short-term safety improvements is
R3.4million, while the estimated cost of the proposed elimination of the level crossing is about R80m, according to Purchase.
The City is inviting the
public to view their proposed
development plan, and comment on it by tomorrow, reports the Cape Argus.
Ten children were killed in a taxi that collided with a train after the driver Jacob Humphreys ignored safety signals and jumped a queue of cars.
CONVICTED: Humphreys.
In 2011, Humphreys was
convicted and sentenced to 20 years in prison.
He approached the Supreme Court of Appeal, where the
charges were changed to
culpable homicide.
The sentence was then reduced to eight years.
Cape Argus