South Africa: Cape Town's Unfinished Freeway in a Tunnel, but Costs Up in the Air

What the report says

Cape Town has put forward a long-delayed plan to reshape the city’s unfinished Foreshore freeway structures, according to Daily Maverick via AllAfrica. The proposal would replace the abandoned elevated roadworks with a new bridge and an underground tunnel, while opening about 15 hectares of land for housing, public space and a new neighbourhood.

The report says Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis announced the vision on 2 October, framing it as a way to resolve a project that has remained incomplete for more than five decades. The freeway columns and bridge work, started in the early 1970s, have become a familiar part of the city skyline and are often referred to locally as “Solly’s Folly.” The original bridge was intended to improve links between the central business district and coastal areas before construction was halted.

Under the current concept, inbound traffic would connect directly to Helen Suzman Boulevard, while outbound traffic would move through a tunnel beside Duncan Road. The broader aim is to unlock central land for development and public use in one of Cape Town’s most visible urban regeneration opportunities.

The article says the main uncertainties remain the project’s cost, how it would be funded and the engineering risks involved. That matters because the scheme combines transport infrastructure with major land redevelopment, and its feasibility will depend on detailed technical and financial planning.