The sitting of the Grayston Drive pedestrian and cyclist structural bridge collapse inquiry has been postponed due to challenges faced by the commission.

The commission, appointed by the Department of Labour, was expected to sit for three days from today.

The commission’s Presiding Officer, Lennie Samuel, said every time the commission meets, it experiences challenges. Samuel said the issues faced today by the commission were beyond his control.

“We have had a series of communication with various stakeholders to the inquiry. We have also made sufficient progress to date. We have now received expert reports from Formscaff and Murray & Roberts. The rest of the parties have submitted statements,” he said.

Two experts from Formscaff were expected to give evidence today before the inquiry.

Samuel told the briefing today that a total of 20 witnesses are lined up to testify before the inquiry. He said because the commission was not able to sit today due to unexpected glitches, it would be expected to sit again on 7 July 2016 at a venue to be confirmed in due course.

The commission was set up following the collapse of the temporary bridge structure at the M1 Grayston Drive. The collapse led to the deaths of two people and 19 others were injured.

The fatal incident happened on 14 October 2015.  The Department of Labour set up a section 32 inquiry in terms of the Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Act to investigate instances of negligence and contravention of safety legislation, following the incident.