The famous unfinished bridge in one of South Africa’s biggest cities – Photos

Ask anyone in South Africa about an unfinished bridge, and their first thoughts will almost certainly be the Foreshore Freeway Bridge in the centre of Cape Town.

Over the years, this incomplete infrastructure project has become an iconic part of the city’s skyline, often used in movies and in vehicle and fashion photo shoots for its run-down, industrial aesthetic.

The original structure was built in the 1970s as part of the city’s road expansion efforts. However, the project was later deferred due to a lack of funds.

Additionally, Cape Town could not justify any additional spending on the elevated roadway because the city’s traffic levels weren’t high enough to justify the investment.

This is deeply ironic in hindsight, of course, given that Cape Town is now considered to be one of the worst-congested cities in the world, with traffic on par with other notorious metros like Los Angeles, New York, Istanbul, Jakarta, and London.

In any case, the Foreshore Freeway project was left unfinished and has remained so for decades, even as traffic levels have grown exponentially due to semigration and new developments such as Cape Town Stadium in Green Point.

That’s not to say no one has tried to do anything about it. While the bridge has effectively become one of Cape Town’s most famous landmarks, there have been several attempts to either finish the bridge or convert the structure for a different purpose.

Suggestions have ranged from an arcade and skate park to a roller coaster and even a water feature, which would complement the aesthetic of the area, located next to the popular V&A waterfront.

Another idea has been to incorporate the infrastructure into an ambitious “sky train” project, using the bridge for an elevated portion of a new commuter train running through the CBD.

Gareth Ramsay, a South African development engineer, suggested a new two-way train system with four stations in Sea Point, Green Point, the CTICC, and Woodstock, the latter of which connects to the metro’s larger train network.

However, Rob Quintas, Mayoral Committee Member for Urban Mobility, said that such a plan would be far too expensive and that the city was looking at more cost-effective transport solutions like the MyCiti bus service.

Cape Town’s plans for the Foreshore Freeway Bridge

The City of Cape Town reportedly drafted plans to finish Foreshore Freeway Bridge in 2018, though these plans were never made public.

When TopAuto contacted the City to inquire about the plans in 2024, Quintas said that the bridge was part of an ongoing feasibility study to reshape the metro’s road infrastructure

“A key priority of the scoping study is to develop an integrated transport and land use solution,” he said at the time.

A transport analysis found that the completed bridge could support up to 7,000 vehicles per hour in both directions in morning and afternoon rush hour conditions.

“The intention is to develop an optimum transport and land use solution to facilitate long-term investment and economic growth, while maximising the precinct’s inherent public amenity and development potential,” said Quintas.

However, he said the study was still underway and had not been concluded. He added that cost remained a big concern and that the city didn’t want to burden ratepayers with an unnecessary financial responsibility.

We emailed the City this week for an update to learn whether there had been a development, or if the plans had quietly been shelved.

The City provided a short response, stating that it couldn’t share any details right now, but that it would make an official announcement regarding the Foreshore Precinct in early October.

Cape Town Foreshore Freeway Bridge