St Francis Bay an Cape St Francis residents are now marooned again following the closure of the Sand Rive Bridge this evening when water started flowing over the top of bridge.  The bridge will in all likelihood be closed all night fo safety reasons.

At 6.30 pm St Francis Chronicle was at the bridge and took these photos showing storm water about one foot away from the top of the bridge.

We called emergency services who raced to the scene and then as water stated flowing over they blocked access to the bridge causing St Francis residents to be cut off from the outside world.

Some residents had already parked their vehicles on the Humansdorp side of the bridge this afternoon in anticipation of the bridge being closed.

St Francis Chronicle noticed two of the outflow pipes appeared to be blocked.

A spokes person for Kouga Municipality said traffic officials would stay on site to monitor the water levels. “The bridge has been closed because of poor visibility and motorists will not be able to see where to drive since water has overflowed the bridge.   Since it is is now unsafe to cross, access to it has been blocked. If the levels subside during the night then the bridge will be reopened.”

Water levels dangerously close to the top of theSand River Bridge at 6.30 pm this evening

The spokes person added that it is not likely that officials will unblock the outflow pipes tonight as there is poor visibility and pouring rain, . It is more likely the outflow pipes will be cleared early tomorrow morning.

In other news: 

* The Oyster Bay – St Francis Bay road is now completely CLOSED, also for 4x4s

 * Humansdorp to Kareedouw: An embankment has crashed down onto the R102 about 8km from Humansdorp towards Kareedouw. The provincial traffic department has jumped in to assist our emergency teams. They’re on their way there to see if vehicles can still pass, but it’s best to avoid the road if possible.

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