I had occasion to do the trip from Hout Bay to Kommetjie via Chapman's Peak Drive today. Twice in one week and then maybe not again for a year! As I waited in the queues for the roadworks, there was plenty of time to look about and observe what is actually going on. It appears that watercourses are being reinforced in the areas where the layers of soft gravel that form the base of the mountainside are likely to collapse into the road under stress. The work is being carried out with the minimum of disruption and in a very organised manner with minimal waiting time. They are working under trying conditions on a very narrow road, with a gale force wind today, which can just as easily turn to rain by tomorrow, it being Cape Town.
A little further on, the ladies in their little plastic booths trying to collect the money have to fold it into tiny parcels to ensure that the wind doesn't snatch it away and deposit it in Davy Jones' locker at the bottom of the cliff! Those booths must be bolted to the road, otherwise I am sure they would be rolling down the mountain by now.
And then we come to the cause of much hoohah and hysteria... the toll plaza. To call this very modest and - let's face it, inconspicuous and extremely tastefully clad in natural stone - building a plaza is a gross exaggeration. Perhaps it has been scaled down and modified since the original plans caused a hunger strike and mass demonstrations by the public, who as usual when money is involved don't actually have a voice. I consider it to be an enhancement of the previously exposed, crumbling gravel cliff face.
The question that really needs to be asked is how such a small construction could possibly cost R54 million? Someone must think we are all stupid.
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