The history of Chapman’s peak drive

The History of Chapman’s Peak Drive

Today, after a trip to hout bay we decided to travel back home over the scenic Chapman’s Peak Drive. I fall in love with the views of this spectacular route, just a little bit more each time we travel this way.

As we drove under the carefully chiseled bridge with the mountain looming ahead of us and the bright blue ocean silently below, I began to wonder how this road began…

Who carved this beautiful roadway ?

The History of Chapman’s Peak Drive

In the early 1900s, Sir Nicholas Fredrick de Waal, the first Administrator of the Cape, ordered that a road be built to link the City and the Southern Suburbs.

The road was an immediate success and he soon requested a road also to link Noordhoek and Hout Bay.

Two routes were considered. The spectacular coastal route and one further inland, over the neck between Noordhoek and Chapman’s Peaks.

When the preliminary surveys were conducted in 1914, on the road the surveyors reported back that the cliffs and ravines were too steep and unstable for a mountain pass.

They said that it would be impossible, but de Waal insisted that the project go ahead, choosing the coastal cliff route with its steep terrain and unstable mountains as the preferred option.

And so, the construction of Chapman’s Peak Drive started in 1915 on the Hout Bay side using convict labour. The construction on the Noordhoek side started in 1916.

In light of the fact that the road surface is built on a 630 million year old Cape granite contour, the construction of the road had to be cleverly planned to take advantage of geology of the area as well as to create a stable road on an almost vertical cliff face. Because of this, the roadside was carved out of the more workable Malmesbury series of sedimentary shales.

The road section from Hout Bay to the Lookout Point was opened to traffic in 1919.

The rest of the 9km road was completed three years later and was opened to traffic on the 6th May 1922 by His Royal Highness Prince Arthur of Connaught.

Chapman’s Peak Drive today

In January 2000 Chapman’s Peak Drive was closed to traffic due to a series of rockfall injuries and four tragic deaths.

It then reopened in 2003 after extensive remedial measures had been constructed. These included massive steel catch nets and two semi-tunnels. Many sections of unstable rock-face were also reinforced with shotcrete.

Chapman’s Peak Drive has a total of 114 curves and is now a toll road. This gorgeous scenic marine route, with its impressive rock face and exquisite views,is on the top on every tourist’s list of things to do when visiting Cape Town.

Interesting facts about Chapman’s Peak Drive

Some interesting facts that I only recently learnt about Chapman’s Peak Drive are ….

• Endangered vegetation- Two different endangered vegetation types can be found along the road. The Peninsula Sandstone Fynbos and Cape Granite Fynbos. Both are endemic to the city of Cape Town.
• Abandobed mine -There is an old, abandoned manganese mine on the northwestern slopes of the peak.
• Abandoned jetty– The remains of a jetty from which the ore from the mine used to be shipped are directly below the abandoned mine.