Cape Town – A key road linking Cape Town’s City Bowl to the Atlantic Seaboard is expected to reopen by mid-December, more than three years after severe storm damage forced its closure.
The City of Cape Town’s Urban Mobility Directorate has confirmed that rehabilitation work on Kloof Road, between Kloof Nek Road and Round House Road, has entered its final phase, with most of the major structural repairs completed.
According to Newsday, the road was closed on September 24, 2023, after a Level-9 storm destabilised the embankment supporting the route, making it unsafe for traffic.
Further damage caused by heavy rainfall during the winter of 2024 resulted in another slope failure, delaying the repair project.
The City of Cape Town said rehabilitation work began in February 2026, with contractors undertaking extensive structural repairs to stabilise the damaged embankments.
Rehabilitating drainage channels
The work has included installing soil nails and constructing gabion retaining walls to support the slopes and the road above, as well as upgrading stormwater infrastructure and rehabilitating drainage channels.
The City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Urban Mobility, Rob Quintas, said the project was on track following a site inspection with ward councillor Nicola Jowell.
“Kloof Road has been closed for over three years now and I am happy to announce that within the next seven weeks, residents and visitors will be able to use this road once again,” Quintas said in a statement published on October 25.
He thanked residents and commuters for their patience, adding: “It has been a long wait, but the end is in sight.”
According to Eyewitness News, the closure has affected an important transport connection between the City Bowl and Atlantic Seaboard suburbs, including Camps Bay, Clifton, Bantry Bay and Sea Point.
Special environmental considerations
The rehabilitation has also required special environmental considerations because Kloof Road falls within Table Mountain National Park.
Quintas said indigenous plants were rescued and their cuttings preserved at a nursery before being transplanted onto the reconstructed slopes.
“Early this year, we undertook a search and rescue exercise to locate and exhume indigenous plant species and took a variety of clippings,” he said.
The City has, however, clarified that the project is strictly focused on repairing the storm-damaged infrastructure and will not include additional improvements such as dedicated walking and cycling lanes.
The road will remain closed to motorists, cyclists and pedestrians until the outstanding work is completed and it is declared safe for public use.
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
