N3 Freeway: We wish to thank motorists for heeding our call to obey the rules of the road.
They are well behaved and at this stage we have no fatalities.
However, our highly efficient team from Road Traffic Inspectorate has reported critical injuries as a result of crashes involving trucks along the N3. The upgrading of this route has created an inconvenience and a long-lasting solution on the other hand.
We apologize to our visitors and worshippers who were stuck on the road last night and this morning.
We have met with the South African Freight Association, SANRAL, Road Traffic Management Corporation and representatives of tow truck companies.
We have agreed to work together to deal with congestion as a result of truck accidents along the major routes.
Trucks with mechanical failures and those involved in crashes will be immediately removed from the crash scene to avoid congestion. The repair of trucks on the road has been identified as the root cause of congestion.
We will have more meetings with other main players such as the Department of Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs, Transnet, Port Operators, Dube Trade Port, Richards
Bay Industrial Development Zone, eThekwini Municipality, Umhlathuze Municipality, and other municipalities.
Our turnaround strategy involves establishing the following:-
*Rail Short Term Work Stream*: This stream is focused on alleviating congestion by deploying wagons to move cargo from road to rail, with specific focus on the short distances.
*Congestion Response and Enforcement Workstream*: We have seen truck congestion on the N2 in Richards Bay and Durban Harbour and Bayhead.
This is focused on developing a holistic approach for decongesting the Port and major arterial roads by creating additional capacity for future traffic and enforcing compliance with permit and traffic rules.
Our main focus, as outlined in the National Road Safety Strategy is to foster a safer road environment for all users.
Siletha ithemba | Sisebenza kanzima | Siyazimisela
Ends
Issued by the MEC for Transport and Human Settlements
