News

National Road chopped into pieces

A head on collision and thousands of rands in damages is met with silence from the relevant departments who should take accountability for the mess on the Stoffberg Road.

July 2, 2019

Sjani Campher 2 minutes read

Marius Viljoen from Zentex Plant Hire, waiting for roadside assistance after his axle broke.

The R555 is all but hacked up, with several sections of the tar surface stripped for repairs and the holes have been left, negligently unmarked and unattended.

The strips of removed tar are located in such places, that vehicles have to swerve into the oncoming lane to avoid them, or hit them at full-speed, leading to damages to their vehicles.
A BMW and an abnormal load vehicle are currently standing next to the road, suffering from extensive damages.

The strip not far from the original ditch that caused the accident. This is a new patch.

www.mobserver.co.za published an article on Monday, with a video showing unsuspecting drivers screeching to a halt as they try to avoid one of the ditches that spans across the road.

The publishing of the article came after a head on collision took place on Saturday evening, at the very same unmarked ditch. The occupants of both vehicles narrowly escaped with their lives, yet the following day warning signs had still not been put up.

Also read: WATCH: Vehicles hit unmarked ditch on R555

Several residents expressed their discontent, asking whether the relevant department will pay for the costs inflicted upon motorists.

Mr Tim Phiri, the driver of the BMW, showed the journalist his two flat tyres. He estimated that repairs to his vehicle would cost him a maximum of R6000.

“But this is just money, what about people’s lives?” he asked at the scene. Tim is outraged that signs have not been put up to warn motorists of the construction, adding that it’s an accident waiting to happen.

Tim Phiri next to one of his flat tyres. Both tyres on the left side of the vehicle are flat and he suspects rim damage.

Mr Marius Viljoen and his abnormal load vehicle, was parked not far from Mr Phiri. His tyres were not only damaged but one of the wheels broke off from the axle, leaving the axle digging into the road.

•www.mobserver.co.za would like to warn motorists of the sections where tar was removed. There are patches at the Protea intersection, as well as two major patches about two kilometres from the robot. Another patch has been removed after the Renoster Street turn off to Dennesig.

Another new patch, dangerously situated near the Renoster turn-off. This turn-off has been responsible for many accidents.

After close inspection, it was seen that sections of the road have been demarcated with white paint, all the way to the Elandslaagte turnoff about 10km out, which indicates that more patches will undoubtedly be removed.

www.mobserver.co.za is still awaiting a response from the Department of Public Works, Roads and Transport.