Paul Kruger Street construction starts
Motorists will have to brace themselves for traffic congestion in parts of the inner city as construction, which finally started on Monday, forces the closure of parts of Paul Kruger Street for the next three months to allow for the city’s bus rapid transit system.
Stephané Bothma
Motorists were on Tuesday morning faced with a traffic nightmare as construction on parts of Paul Kruger Street started.
Although only Paul Kruger Street, running north-south was cordoned off, commuters travelling from the west of the CBD to the Moot and other areas east of the inner city were caught in traffic chaos.
“The problem is that vehicles now using roads running parallel with Paul Kruger are blocking intersections and therefore cars travelling east-west or west-east cannot cross the intersections,” Ntabi Madumo said.
She added that the road works almost tripled her travelling time to work. In addition, frustrated motorists started ignoring road regulations and started taking reckless chances in an attempt to deal with the traffic “nightmare”.
Traffic congestion in the Pretoria CBD started on Monday as sections of Paul Kruger Street became off limits to motorists, with only tenants with underground parking allowed through, said Tshwane mayoral spokesman Blessing Manale.
Construction, that was supposed to start on 1 February but commenced a week later, was expected to continue for the next three months.
The closure was to allow for the widening of the road between Nana Sita and Pretorius streets for the rapid bus transit system – A Re Yeng, said Manale.
“Paul Kruger Street will be closed to traffic between Nana Sita and Francis Baard streets and between Francis Baard and Pretorius streets,” he said.
Motorists were advised to use the following detours:
From the inner city to Pretoria North:
– Motorists can travel on Francis Baard Street and use either Nana Sita Street and Francis
Baard Street or Lilian Ngoyi Street to exit the city towards Pretoria North.
– Motorists can travel on Nana Sita Street and use either Bosman Street or Lilian Ngoyi Street to exit the city towards Pretoria North.
– Motorists can travel on Pretorius Street and use either Bosman Street or Lilian Ngoyi Street to exit the city towards Pretoria North.
From Pretoria North towards the inner city:
– Motorists can travel on Paul Kruger Street until they reach Madiba Street.
– Motorists can then turn left onto Madiba Street and then right onto Thabo Sehume Street.
– Motorists can then access the inner city by using either Pretorius Street or Nana Sita Street.
“Motorists are urged to drive within the indicated speed limit and be alert to construction vehicles,” Manale said before thanking motorists and other affected parties for their cooperation during construction.
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