Frustration mounts over R59 off-ramp chaos as province fails to act
Traffic lights are out, accidents are up, and no one is taking responsibility. As the R59 and Swartkoppies Road intersection spirals into chaos, Ekurhuleni points to the province while road users pay the price.
The City of Ekurhuleni has clarified that it bears no responsibility for the troubled R59 and Swartkoppies Road intersection, as public frustration mounts over ongoing traffic chaos, malfunctioning traffic lights, and an increasing number of accidents.
The R59 off-ramp onto Swartkoppies Road has become a hotspot of confusion, danger, and controversy.
In the past week alone, two serious accidents have been reported, adding to a growing list of incidents involving motorists, cyclists, and pedestrians injured due to the lack of traffic control and road management.
@albertonrecord A collision between a taxi and a bakkie on the Swartkoppies Road off-ramp in Alberton has caused significant traffic delays on April 8. The incident occurred near the intersection leading from Newmarket toward Brackenhurst and Brackendowns. Fortunately, no injuries have been reported.
The traffic lights at the intersection have been dysfunctional for an extended period, with no clear timeline for repairs.
As a result, frustrated drivers are creating their own lanes, worsening the congestion and increasing the risk of collisions. Eyewitnesses describe the area as ‘a free-for-all’ during morning rush hours.
Despite public outcry, local law enforcement presence is minimal. The EMPD only deploys officers from 07:00 to 08:00 each morning.
Beyond that time, the intersection is left unmanaged, and on at least one recent occasion, an accident occurred mere minutes after officers vacated the area.
Speaking to the Alberton Record, EMPD spokesperson Kobeli Mokheseng confirmed that the city’s law enforcement is only offering assistance on a limited basis and that the roads fall under the jurisdiction of the Gauteng provincial government.
“We are only helping out. These roads are not ours, they are provincial roads. Our officers are deployed for one hour in the morning, and that’s it. We do not have the capacity to keep officers there all day as they have other duties to fulfil, and there’s a shortage of staff,” Mokheseng said.
Zweli Dlamini, spokesperson for the City of Ekurhuleni, echoed this stance.
“The City of Ekurhuleni is not responsible for R59 and Swartkoppies Road. It is under provincial jurisdiction. We assist where we can, especially in emergencies, but we cannot allocate budget or resources to infrastructure that is not ours to maintain. Even if accidents happen on these roads, they are not technically our responsibility, though we do respond since it falls within our geographic region,” Dlamini remarked.
Dlamini criticised the province’s inability to address the issues.
“The province is clearly struggling to maintain its infrastructure. These traffic lights have been out of order for some time now, and nothing seems to be happening. There’s no budget from our side because it’s not our mandate,” he said.
Residents and daily commuters are growing increasingly anxious and angry, feeling caught between multiple levels of government with no clear accountability. Many are calling for urgent intervention before more lives are lost.
Provincial officials have yet to respond to repeated requests for comment, while the community continues to grapple with dangerous conditions and a lack of long-term solutions.
As the blame game between municipal and provincial authorities continues, road users are left navigating chaos and risk with no clear end in sight.
WATCH: Taxi and bakkie collide on Swartkoppies off-ramp, causing traffic delays
