For over five decades, Cape Town's unfinished highways have hung above the Foreshore, serving as concrete reminders of an ambitious transport project abandoned before completion. The City of Cape Town now aims to finish the job with a far broader vision than simply completing two bridges. Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis unveiled plans to transform the Foreshore's unfinished highways into a new bridge-and-tunnel system aimed at easing congestion and opening up land for a new inner-city neighbourhood.
The unfinished highways were conceived in the late 1960s, with construction beginning in the early 1970s as part of plans to connect the Eastern and Western Boulevards and ease traffic congestion into the Cape Town CBD. However, construction stopped in 1977 due to financial constraints, leaving sections of elevated freeway suspended above the Foreshore. The structures have become among Cape Town's most recognisable man-made landmarks, featuring in films, photographs, and urban legends.
City manager Lungelo Mbandazayo said the project presented an opportunity to turn what had become a symbol of an unfinished chapter in Cape Town's history into part of the city's future. The city began examining the precinct's future about two years ago, considering the challenges facing the area, Cape Town's future infrastructure needs, and how the development could ultimately benefit residents.
Mbandazayo described the proposal as some of the boldest thinking the city had put forward for the CBD in recent years. The proposal aims to unlock investment, jobs, and affordable housing in the heart of Cape Town. Hill-Lewis said completing the unfinished highways would go beyond solving a decades-old infrastructure puzzle, with the city hoping the development will ease congestion headaches while unlocking huge investment and job creation.
Under the proposal, the unfinished highways would be transformed into a new link bridge and tunnel aimed at improving the connection between the Foreshore and the Atlantic Seaboard. The longer-term plan would also unlock land for a new Foreshore neighbourhood, incorporating affordable housing, pedestrian-friendly streets, public spaces, and a tree-lined promenade along the harbour edge towards Sea Point.
The proposal is still at an early stage, and construction is not imminent. The city will first take the plans through public consultation before final designs are developed into detailed engineering plans, followed by procurement and ultimately construction. Hill-Lewis said Friday's announcement marked the beginning of the public phase of the project, with the city releasing drawings to begin a process of public consultation.
To minimise disruption to traffic, the city proposes carrying out construction in two phases while keeping existing freeways operational. The development is intended to reconnect the CBD with the coastline, with Hill-Lewis stating that Cape Town is one of the world's great port cities, and everything about its identity is shaped by the sea.
Key points
- The City of Cape Town aims to transform the Foreshore's unfinished highways into a new bridge-and-tunnel system to ease congestion and create a new inner-city neighbourhood.
- The proposal includes a new link bridge and tunnel, as well as a new Foreshore neighbourhood with affordable housing, pedestrian-friendly streets, and public spaces.
- The city will take the plans through public consultation before final designs are developed into detailed engineering plans, followed by procurement and construction.
