Joburg Bree Street explosion – R4 million spent, R174 million to go

The Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA) estimates that it will cost a total of R178 million to repair Lilian Ngoyi Street (formerly Bree Street) in the CBD, an estimate that could still go higher, following an explosion in July that tore up the road, injured over 40 civilians, and damaged dozens of vehicles.

Thus far, the city has spent roughly R4 million on the project through the recruitment of professional expert services, cording off the site, technology used, and the provision of temporary relief services in the form of water tankers and ablutions, said the city manager.

Following the explosion, the city put out a call for assistance from qualified individuals who are able to assess the damage, determine the cause, as well as repair the road.

As a result, the JRA has added civil, electrical, geotechnical, and structural engineers; fire and forensic specialists; an international fire dynamics and explosion simulation specialist; and occupational health and safety professionals to its payroll for the project.

Thus far, the experts have ruled out the following possible causes:

• It was not an Egoli pipeline explosion, pipe rupture, or large leak
• No terrorist action, zama-zamas, cable theft, or foul play by anybody
• No signs of people living in the tunnels nor recent cable theft were found
• No negligence by electricity, any department, or any intentional action by individuals or intentional release of gas into the tunnel

The city confirmed that the type of gas that fuelled the explosion was methane, “which is lighter than air and travelled up along the services tunnel, from an unknown source to the crest of the tunnel near Von Brandis Street.”

A more detailed presentation on the cause of the explosion is due to be released in due course, it said.

[More]: Joburg Water has excavated a section of the road on Lillian Ngoyi Street to attend to damaged water and sewer pipes. #JoburgExplosion pic.twitter.com/QrRgZEBy6B

— Joburg Roads Agency (@MyJRA) July 25, 2023

Lots of lessons learned

The Joburg City Manager said “a lot of lessons were learned” following the unfortunate explosion that claimed the life of one citizen, and to avoid future reoccurrence of such an incident, as well as to reduce the severity thereof if it does happen, the city will upgrade its tunnel design based on international codes as well as introduce continuous gas detection and alarms and gas detector sensor monitors for all staff working the tunnels regularly.

The new tunnel design will be based on NFPA Standards 68, 69, 502, and 921, amongst others, which encompasses fire and explosion prevention with accidental combustible gas release in tunnels or cavities.

Under these regulations, the tunnels will be reinforced with concrete side walls and roofs designed for over-pressure and release. As such, the tunnel roof and sidewalls will be capable of withstanding and depressurizing a “9.5% methane explosion.”

“At this stage, we remain confident that we are on the right path in our efforts to respond and recover from the incident and will once more implore the public to bear with us and to give us space to do all we must for the successful recovery of the site and services,” concludes the manager.