End of an era for Cape Town’s famous bridge to nowhere

The City of Cape Town will complete the famous unfinished Foreshore Freeway to address the metro’s congestion issues while creating new public spaces.

The Foreshore Freeway is an iconic part of the city’s skyline which has stood for more than 50 years.

Construction began in the early 1970s. However, the project soon stalled due to budget constraints.

Further investment was difficult to justify at the time due to the city’s much lower traffic volumes, according to TopAuto.

As a result, the project was deferred, and while there have been attempts to revive or repurpose the infrastructure over the years, the bridge has stood incomplete for over half a century.

All of this is set to change, as the City recently announced plans to complete the bridge and reclaim underutilised land in the CBD.

Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis explained that the city has very little land left to work with due to its geographical constraints.

“With our city centre wedged into this relatively small piece of land between mountain and ocean, the geography that makes Cape Town so beautiful and so memorable is also one of our greatest constraints. There is very little room for the CBD to expand,” he said.

“But not all of that constraint is natural. Some of it is man-made. The elevated highway bringing people in from the N1 and N2 – including the famous unfinished freeways – has cut the city centre off from the ocean.”

The City therefore plans to kill two birds with one stone by completing the Foreshore Freeway to improve traffic flow while freeing up 15 hectares of land for redevelopment.

Hill-Lewis said that this land will be converted into new commercial, residential, and public spaces, including a park and a walkable promenade.

“Over the decades ahead, a brand new vibrant Foreshore neighbourhood will be unlocked, including affordable housing, walkable streets, and a tree-lined promenade along the harbour’s edge all the way to Sea Point,” he said.

A lengthy timeline

Cape Town’s mayoral committee unveiled artistic renderings of how the new bridge and park will look.

The first phase of the project will involve a public participation process and consultations with engineering firms to turn the concept into a detailed blueprint.

Construction on the bridge will be carried out in two halves to minimise disruptions to motorists and residents.

The completed freeway will provide a new direct route to Green Point and Sea Point, bypassing the CBD altogether.

“During the first phase of construction, an iconic new bridge will be built over Buitengracht, and the incoming elevated freeway will be widened, linking the inbound freeway directly to Helen Suzman Boulevard,” the mayor explained.

“In the second phase, an outbound tunnel will be constructed, with the existing outbound elevated freeway being demolished. This will enable the creation of a new promenade and a brand-new Foreshore neighbourhood.”

However, this process is expected to take several years to complete. Hill-Lewis said that the bridge will take the better part of a decade, while the new neighbourhood will gradually develop over the next 20 to 30 years.

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Cape Town’s new bridge concept

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