The Sabie-Hazyview road (R536) has again been closed to traffic, and motorists are fuming.
This was the result of motorists using the road despite signs erected warning of the dangerous state of it after the flood damage in February.

The spokesperson for the Department of Community Safety, Security and Liaison, Moeti Mmusi, said they had no choice but to take extreme measures to protect motorists who refused to stop using the road. According to Mmusi, road users simply removed barricades and continued to use the road, putting their lives in danger.

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“It has come to our attention that they continue to use the road even though they were warned not to do so. Due to the fact that the road is not safe to travel on, we have closed it completely. No one will travel on it while waiting for the provincial government to start with repairs,” he said.

It is not known when repairs are to commence.

Lowvelder spoke to motorists, especially taxi operators, who refused to adhere to the rules. They are unhappy about the closure, claiming they would do whatever is necessary to reopen the road. They also said that using alternative routes to Sabie and Hazyview takes longer and costs more in petrol. They said that government should have left a section open until official repairs commenced.

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“The portion we were using was safe to drive on. We are not even sure when they are going to reopen it and those working in the area will be paying more to get to their destinations.”

The provincial government has concluded the assessment of flood damages, which amounts to R2.3b.
It is waiting for response from National Treasury before it starts repairing the damages.