Montagu Pass to be restored at R80m

GEORGE NEWS AND VIDEO - The Montagu Pass is going to be restored to its former glory.

The good news was officially announced at the Toll House on Monday 17 March, by a group of relieved locals who have been working tirelessly behind the scenes to secure the future of the pass.

The Western Cape Department of Infrastructure (DoI) has made R80m available from a national disaster management grant it had received in October 2024, for flood damage repairs in the worst-hit areas in the province.

A process was then put into motion to have the damage in the pass assessed and engineering surveys done. The engineering firm Zutari was appointed to provide the professional engineering services for the repairs, and it started with its assessments in November. Its design scope was approved at the end of February and the environmental application process is now under way.

Infrastructure Minister Tertuis Simmers said the engineering surveys were received in early March and are being processed for a detailed engineering design.

The aim is to submit the environmental application to the relevant authorities by the end of March. "Given that the Montagu Pass is a heritage site, the approvals may take between six and eight months and depend on the public participation and appeals process, which may delay matters."

If there are no delays, the environmental authorisations should be received by late September, and repairs could start in late October. The estimated time of completion of the project is between eight and 10 months from that point. Simmers cautioned that the target of reopening the road by August 2026 is a "tentative milestone" dependent on the various conditions being met in time.

Maintenance to align with heritage practices

Simmers also gave the assurance that the in-house maintenance methods for the pass have been revised with the help of Heritage Western Cape, to align with heritage practices, and once the pass is repaired, routine maintenance will be done under the supervision of the Garden Route and Central Karoo district roads engineer.

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He said the Garden Route District Municipality, as the road maintenance agency for the DoI, had done some repairs after the initial flood that had not been in accordance with the historic design of the pass, which affected its capacity to handle heavy downpours.

"The revised maintenance methods will go a long way to ensure the resilience of the pass is improved to cope with future floods."

The stone wall has crumbled away in places.

Huge step forward for Southern Cape

Van der Stel Foundation's chairperson, Natie de Swardt, says the restoration of the Montagu Pass is a huge step forward for the whole of the Southern Cape.

He says the pass is an economic asset and a tourist attraction that indirectly creates work. It is also an example of innovation and a proclaimed heritage site, which means the authorities are legally bound to maintain it.

"The golden rule here will be to balance the authenticity of the pass with its functional and achievable maintenance. That will be the big challenge, and we hope it can be done."

George Heritage Trust chairperson Willie-John van Niekerk says the trust and the Van der Stel Foundation have been campaigning the authorities for several years to apply the appropriate maintenance methods in the pass to ensure its survival.

Following floods in the Western Cape these past three years, it became uncertain if the pass would ever be restored, as funds for flood-damaged roads in the province had to be directed towards priority routes.

Flooding, exacerbated by inappropriate maintenance methods, has caused severe damage.

It was through the ongoing efforts of the trust and the foundation that the authorities were continually engaged regarding the significance of the pass and the need for its restoration.
Their hands were strengthened when Theo Adams, George Business Chamber director and owner of Herold Meander, and Agri Western Cape CEO Jannie Strydom also threw in their weight.

Strydom says Agri Western Cape was asked by their local farm association to co-ordinate the efforts to fast-track repairs to the pass.

"We organised a meeting with Western Cape Agriculture Minister Ivan Meyer, in which the AHi [Afrikaanse Handelsinstituut] and business chamber were also involved, and where we received feedback from the provincial Department of Infrastructure.

"We were pleasantly surprised to learn how far the process had progressed. We thank each and every one who drove this campaign from the beginning."

George Business Chamber chairperson Johannes Jumat says they are very excited for the pass to resume its position in society to the benefit of the region and its business.

If all goes according to plan, the pass will reopen to traffic in August 2026.