RESIDENTS, pedestrians and motorists are frustrated by the City’s failure to find a solution to the longstanding issue of the danger of trucks driving up from the Tollgate Bridge, along Mazisi Kunene Road.

Peter Keogh, a retired Metro police captain and road safety activist, lamented that during morning peak hour, as one approaches Tollgate Bridge from Entabeni Hospital, the traffic is backed up as far as Che Guevara Road. “If a truck whose brakes fail there during morning peak hour, then it would run from Tollgate Bridge, and there would be very serious injuries or even deaths,” said Keogh after an accident in the area two weeks ago.

He added, “Not a week goes by when a truck does not get stuck on the section of Ridge Road (Mazisi Kunene Road) between Berea and Entabeni hospital.”

He advised that City Engineers, traffic and transportation units should erect sign boards on the N3 inbound advising trucks over a certain weight not to take the off-ramp to the Tollgate Bridge. “Signs should direct trucks to utilise other roads to the harbour (because it seems many of these trucks drive to the harbour). Every trucking company should be notified to warn drivers not to use the off-ramp. Google Maps / SAT navigator should be contacted by City Engineers to notify drivers of heavy trucks over a certain weight of the safer route to the harbour.
“If these trucks continue to drive over the Tollgate Bridge, one day there will be a serious accident with many fatalities, as was nearly the case recently when a truck’s brakes failed and crashed into a residential wall.”

In September 2024 the City of eThekwini’s Transport Authority (ETA) and the Ward 33 councillor, Fran Kristopher, attempted to address the matter, but it yielded no results.
At the time the ETA responded, “Please be advised that we are fully aware of this problem and have done extensive investigations on the matter. The problem here is that drivers are using navigational applications with Bayhead as their destination and are being routed via Mazisi Kunene Road. The necessary restriction signs are already in place but are being ignored.

Also read: Calls for signage to deter trucks in Glenwood

“We have plans to install signs directing motorists to Bayhead from the freeway and then via Warwick to Sydney Rd to Bayhead. We have advertised contracts for the manufacture and installation of the signs numerous times but have failed to find suitable service providers. A contractor has now been appointed for the ground-mounted signs and which are currently being manufactured. They are expected to be installed within the next two to three weeks. We have also identified a contractor for the overhead signs, and their appointment is imminent.”

Kristopher said that they had resorted to sending the request to the Mayor and City Manager for intervention, as “clearly this Department is not hearing our cries”.

CPF chairperson Calvin Thomas highlighted that the issue of heavy motor vehicles travelling up the road was a hazard for road users and residents.
“In recent years, roadside barriers and property walls have been damaged due to the trucks jack-knifing when rolling back down the hill. Our residential roads are not built for heavy motor vehicles. We require urgent assistance and intervention from the relevant municipal authorities to install signage and overhead barriers restricting trucks from travelling over Tollgate Bridge,” he said.

The City of eThekwini has not replied to Berea Mail enquiries.
Affected residents plan to stage a protest, which is in the co-ordination stage.

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