Daspoort tunnel closed again this weekend
The tunnel, which is approximately 573 meters long, is used daily by pedestrians.
Residents in the west of Pretoria are reminded that the Daspoort tunnel would be closed again at the weekend for maintenance work to replace the 85 lights in the roof of the tunnel with brighter LED lights.
The tunnel will be closed for two Sundays in a row. Last Sunday, the tunnel was closed and it will be closed again this week, from 07:00 to 18:00, said local ward councillor Frik van Wyk.
The 573m tunnel is used daily by pedestrians.
“The light in the tunnel is really bad,” he said.
“It makes visibility for motorists a problem and becomes a safety risk, especially since so many motorists and pedestrians use the tunnel daily.”
READ MORE: UPDATE: Daspoort tunnel maintenance to continue Sunday
It was hoped that all the lights would have been replaced during the first two times the tunnel was closed, but the process took longer than the contractors thought, Van Wyk said.
The tunnel was previously closed on 8 and 15 September.
After the closure on those two days, contractors only managed to replace 20 lights.
Although the project took longer than expected, Van Wyk said he was grateful that it was finally being done.
“I have already received very positive feedback from residents about the change,” he said.
“Maintaining the tunnel was one of my first priorities when I was appointed ward councillor about three years ago.”
Van Wyk previously explained that the tunnel has 85 lights in the roof with additional tube lights on the side.
He said that the new LED lights gave off enough luminous that there was no need to replace the tube lights.
The project has been in planning for a long time, but because the Tshwane metro did not have LED lights in stock, it slowed down the process.
READ MORE: UPDATE: Daspoort tunnel attack victim identified
Only a handful of lights, which were on loan to the metro, were then replaced so that they could test whether the solution would make a difference.
The subway was then happy with the result and the replacement of the lights then kicked off on September 8 last month.
Some locals complained that the closure of the Daspoort tunnel was an inconvenience as they had to now travel longer to get to their destinations.
However, Senior Superintendent Isaac Mahamba said there were alternative routes that could be considered when travelling.
– If you are in the north of Pretoria and want to travel west, motorists could drive along E’skia Mphahlele Drive and join the N4 or WF Nkomo Street.
– If you are in the west of Pretoria and want to travel north, you could drive along the N4 and pass Trans Oranje Road into Vom Hagen Street until E’skia Mphahlele Drive or WF Nkomo Street.
READ MORE: UPDATE: Daspoort tunnel attack victim dies
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