An unwelcome April Fool’s joke greeted motorists at the uThongathi Toll this morning, where inadequatelys manned booths caused huge queues in both directions.

This after Sanral today resumed charging toll fees at both the uThongathi and Umvoti toll gates, which have not charged since arterial roads like the M4 and R102 were damaged in the 2022 floods.

Motorists passing through the uThongathi Toll between 6.30am and 8am this morning faced over ten minute long lines, with just one booth open in either direction at times.

When the Courier spoke to the uThongathi Toll call centre at 8.30am, they said all lanes had since been opened and that the queues were a result of increased month-end traffic.

The Courier heard no similar complaints at the Umvoti Toll.

Sanral said last week that the tolls had to be reopened after the utility had lost almost R500-million in revenue since toll fees were suspended in April.

For general classification vehicles, the uThongathi Toll costs R13.50, with the Umvoti Toll charging R16.50.

The southbound offramp from the N2 onto Watson Highway remains free, as does the northbound onramp from the Watson Highway onto the N2.

In Sanral’s view, this constitutes an alternate route around the still unrepaired M4 bridge, given the M4 is open from Westbrook southwards.

Update at 6pm.

The wait-times have continued throughout the day, with some motorists complaining of over 45 minute delays during peak hours.

This was exacerbated by non-functioning Shesha Lanes (where cars with E-tags are able to pass through) and the fact that E-tags did not work in any of the lanes.

Speaking to the Courier this afternoon, Sanral said the issues did not stem from closed lanes, but rather the fact that motorists appeared to be surprised by the resumption of fees.

“Despite many warnings in the media and signage in the surrounding area, we still had a problem with many people arriving without money for the toll.

“There were also cases where people who may not have known about the fees spent time arguing with the booth operators,” said Sanral eastern region manager, Dumisani Nkabinde.

He said that all lanes were operational in peak hours, with extra staff on-hand to ensure the best possible changeover period.

“We had people working in overlapping shifts so that there were no delays caused at change of shift either,” he said.

With a full complement of commuters back on Monday, further delays are highly possible.

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