Construction has begun on a R15 million bridge and access road that will give residents of the Mlungisi township near Stutterheim easier access to the town centre.

The bridge, which is funded by the National Treasury’s Neighbourhood Development Partnership Grant and implemented by the Amathole District development agency Aspire and the Amahlathi Municipality, will halve the distance of residents’ journey to Stutterheim.

For generations, residents of the Mlungisi township have had to travel four kilometres on treacherous roads or walk two kilometres through a steep, slippery valley to reach Stutterheim.

According to Saskia Hart the N6  Corridor Manager for ASPIRE, Rural South Africa, especially the Eastern Cape, faces massive obstacles to development, not the least of which is a lack of transport infrastructure. “This severely limits communities’ participation in the mainstream economy. This inaccessibility is no accident: town planners during Apartheid went to great lengths to keep communities physically separate. Today, this legacy means rural communities have limited access to employment, goods and services.”

Thus Heart believes, the construction of a bridge linking Mlungisi to Stutterheim’s town centre is a boon to residents and the economic development of the area.
Of the 48 000 people that use Stutterheim’s higher-order services, it is estimated that almost half live outside the urban area. More than 86% of households in the area make less than R1 600 per month. The new route will save residents R3 million in travel costs every year.

“I am so very happy,” said one Mlungisi resident. “The development will help us get jobs and combat crime.” The valley between Mlungisi and Stutterheim, which residents currently have to negotiate to get to town, is notorious for criminal activity.

The construction of the bridge was originally suggested by the community to celebrate the 150th year of Stutterheim’s existence. Residents, however, envisioned a pedestrian bridge linking the communities. The project was upgraded to accommodate motorists by Aspire, who lobbied National Treasury for funds.

The project’s construction will be unique among modern bridges. To maximise community benefit, it will be built using the most labour-intensive methods available: an arched design built using bricks.

The bridge and access road will form part of a larger Stutterheim revitalisation project, which will include the development of a commercial community park in Mlungisi. The community park will include a library, amphitheatre and space for formal and informal business activities.

The Mlungisi-Stutterheim bridge and access road is Aspire’s first construction project. It forms part of the development agency’s Small-Town Regeneration Model. In particular, it is part of the development of the N6 corridor, which leads from East London to Johannesburg via Stutterheim and Cathcart.