Bypass still possible: Sanral
While plans by the SA National Road Agency (Sanral) for two proposed Knysna bypass routes have been rejected by the department of environmental affairs, it says it is far from giving up on the notion.
Sanral’s Western Cape regional manager Randall Cable said the development of the Knysna bypass is of national interest and could improve the movement of people and flow of goods with less inconvenience to Knysna residents. “This is the base in which Sanral promotes the project,” Randall said.
He added that the road agency would continue to work on implementing the project successfully. He did not provide clarity on the options being considered before going to print.
Over the past four decades, five different proposals to divert traffic from the Knysna CBD have been on the table.
An environmental impact assessment (EIA) however put an end to two of the proposed routes which would cross the Knysna River by the Red Bridge, pass through parts of Welbedacht, Narnia (and the Montessori School) and then along the Salt River through Green Acres and a section of Concordia to meet the N2 again at Brackenhill on the Plettenberg Bay stretch of the road.
Among the reasons for the rejection are the relocation of the community in the area not being a feasible option and that the land earmarked for the proposal no longer belongs to Sanral but the department of human settlements.
According to the EIA report, the development would also have negative impacts on the Knysna Estuary and the salt marsh vegetation, coastal thicket and manifest irreversible negative impacts on the receiving environment, which is of national importance. The report also stated the project would have high visual impact in the construction phase.
It further found that the project would see massive soil erosion during construction and among others, lead to some direct loss of forest and fynbos habitat. It also found that the project could cause barriers to movements of animals.
Before the department’s rejection of the proposal in April this year, Sanral had already donated 72ha of the land suggested for the route to the department of human settlements.
The reason for this decision, Randall said, was that the land already had about 3 000 residents living on it. “The cost associated with the relocation of these residents was considerably high and difficult for any provincial government and municipality to absorb.”
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Source: Knysna Plett Herald News