The Commissioner presiding over the M1 Grayston Drive Structural Bridge Collapse inquiry has ordered a Form-Scarf expert witness from Australia to return to South Africa on 29 August to provide certain crucial evidence required by Murray and Roberts.

The witness, Gary Farrow, a mechanical engineer from Australia, took the witness stand last week and was accused by Murray and Roberts from the beginning of being biased in his modelling.

Farrow denied this, telling the inquiry that he had spent nine days on the site of the collapsed temporary structure at the M1/Grayston Drive bridge to gather information. He added that while he had never worked on or with temporary structures he had been involved in other large projects.

“My mandate was configuration of the temporary structure and ascertain the causes of collapse,” Farrow also told the Commission that he approached his modelling with open mind and sound judgement; “I did not prejudge evidence in view of evidence on site”.

Prior to this testimony, the Commission made a site visit to the scene of the fatal accident on the M1/Grayston bridge. Murray & Roberts had made a presentation to the Commission in which it presented a number of models it had designed, in a bid to convince the Commission to provide it with the permission to start the reconstruction of the bridge.

The Department of Labour set-up the Section 32 Inquiry to uncover the causes of the collapse of scaffolding works into the Grayston Drive pedestrian and cyclist structural bridge. The collapse of the temporary bridge structure on the M1/Grayston Drive led to the death of two people and injury to 19 others. The Section 32 investigation, presided by Lennie Samuel, and assisted by Lesibe Raphela is being held in terms of the Occupational Health and Safety Act.