LYDENBURG – Businesses and lodges along the Long Tom Pass are concerned about the sudden truck congestion in the area and fear it will affect their business revenue.
According to one of the business owners, the number of trucks has increased to 12 per hour over the past two months.
They are worried that the escalation will result in road damage which will increase accidents on the road and customers will stop visiting their guest houses or businesses due to unsafe roads conditions which will have a detrimental affect on their businesses.
“What I am worried about is road safety because of the bad weather in our area. Some trucks speed and sometimes motorists cannot drive properly due to the volume on the road,” she said.
“I have also experienced bad driving; I have seen them overtaking each other on a barrier line on the pass,” she added.
When Steelburger/Lydenburg News contacted the spokesman for the Mpumalanga Department of Community Safety, Security and Liaison, Mr Moeti Mmusi, he said the department was not aware of the increase and they would investigate the reason for this.
“We know that there are trucks travelling on the Long Tom Pass which transport various goods, but we are not aware that the number has increased as such. Some of them travel to and from Mozambique, Swaziland, Limpopo, Lydenburg and many other neighbouring areas,” he said.
“Business owners do not have to worry about the safety of their clients when using the road because we have a team in place that checks and monitors the roads around Mpumalanga.
“The trucks are weighed to check if they are suitable to use the road and if they are not, we do not permit them to use the roads. Driver’s behaviour is also monitored and we conduct road-safety awareness campaigns from time to time,” he added. The increase of trucks was said to be the result of the refurbishment of the R36 (Badfontein Road) between Lydenburg and N4 Schoemanskloof.
